Food Train – facing COVID-19 and looking to the future

"It feels like everyone is moving on but forgetting that some of our older population are still very much at risk."
Food Train supports older people living at home. Our teams of local volunteers provide regular practical and social support via our weekly grocery shopping service, handyman and household support service, home visits, befriending service, neighbourhood meal sharing service and library service.
In early March, as COVID-19 began to take hold, our shopping service was hugely impacted by large numbers of public panic buying. As a result, we stopped all our non-food based services to help focus our resources on getting essential food and meals to older people.
The organisation has faced huge challenges losing over 200 volunteers overnight as lockdown came into effect. The pressure on staff and volunteers was intense in the first few weeks. We had no spare funds for PPE, we needed more vans, double the amount of shopping boxes, we had over 500 new volunteer enquiries and we clocked up 1600 hours overtime in eight weeks across our staff team.
With emergency funding from the Scottish Government we were able to take on 22 more part time temporary support workers to help us safely deliver our shopping service. We have made 9000 check-in calls to our members since lockdown came into effect, many of whom were very worried, lonely and anxious. And, using our meal sharing technology, we have also created a platform which matches local volunteers with an older person in their area who needs help with their grocery shopping. We launched this in June and already we are helping older people in the Aberdeen area, North and South Lanarkshire, Edinburgh and Ayrshire.
We can’t yet see what the longer term impacts of COVID-19 will be as we are still facing increased demands. Although some older people are now managing okay and getting their shopping delivery fortnightly rather than weekly, our overall weekly deliveries are still 60% higher than before COVID-19 (it was 80% higher at the peak in April and May).
Last month, a survey of Food Train members showed that 98% expected to use our service over the longer term. However, this comes at a time when expenses are higher than ever at the organisation with extra staffing, transport, volunteering and phone costs. Financial planning has also been a challenge as a result of the ever-changing nature of the pandemic.
During April, May and June we did see a higher than normal level of donations and corporate help, but that is very much a one-off and cannot be relied upon longer term.
We’re trying to get some of our other work restarted in some way, including our befriending, home support and library services. However, with our shopping and meals services still at extremely high levels, with no reduction on the horizon, it’s hard to see how we can cope longer term. It feels like everyone is moving on but forgetting that some of our older population are still very much at risk and still need help, particularly with food and meals.
We are beginning to see and hear the impact on some of our older members. After nearly five months of pretty difficult isolation, with some getting less care too, some say that their physical health has got worse, that their mobility is much worse, they are now more fearful of going out, they are eating and drinking less and their mood is very low.
We are aware how much our profile has been raised, we’ve benefitted from so much great publicity and public support in terms of new volunteers and donations. That type of positivity is not being felt yet with our local funding in each branch. Most of our referrals come from Health and Social Care Partnerships, who have been extremely quick to ask more of us, yet the conversation remain very one way. The winter months bring higher numbers of referrals from Health and Social Care Partnerships but without two-way dialogue and funding that matches need for our services, we will have no option but to close to new referrals.
We are hopeful of phasing back in our other services between now and Christmas with various adaptations and we are hopeful that we can continue to maintain our grocery shopping and meals services to help all the older people who need us. Our new payment methods will be kept in place as an extra offering and we’re working on funding to keep our regular phone calls going. We’ll continue with our hygiene and safety practices until it is much safer to ease back. We are hopeful that the Scottish Government will now see the value of national infrastructure to ensure equitable food access for all older Scots and work with us to achieve that.
End of page.
You may also like:
"It is about saying: this is the need, how can we work together to meet that need?”
Continue readingThe aim of Autistic Knowledge Development is to bring more autistic people to the forefront of anything that is related to them.
Continue readingVersus Arthritis are working with communities and other organisations to provide a stronger service and support more people with arthritis.
Continue readingSober Buzz are building connections and empowering communities to challenge stigma and shame around alcohol misuse.
Continue readingFeeling Strong are providing much needed mental health services for young people in Dundee.
Continue readingOur film takes a look at the creative ways which CHAS engages with their children and young people.
Continue readingThe health and wellbeing of children and young people lies at the heart of the work of Children's Health Scotland.
Continue reading"Everybody needs transport and there can be many barriers to achieving that, so we often fill that gap."
Continue readingHelping children develop their emotional language, understand themselves and their social relationships, take ownership of their wellbeing.
Continue readingOur SHANARRI School aims to create a holistic approach to wellbeing in Highland's schools,
Continue reading"From an integration perspective, people now have a greater understanding of what it's like to be a New Scot."
Continue reading"Integration is crucial in enabling leaders to share decision-making, empower individuals, and champion the voice of lived experience."
Continue reading"We don’t often get the chance to fully appreciate the potential that exists within football to help improve lives."
Continue reading"It’s very much about being playful and experimental, but it’s also allowing people to express themselves and feel heard."
Continue readingOur Children and Young People Programme recently visited Kelso High School’s S1 Social Skills Group which supports neurodiversity.
Continue readingThe ALLIANCE's Children and Young People Programme made a visit to Kelso High School recently.
Continue reading"By integrating services around what matters most, we can enable people to live life to the fullest from the comfort of home."
Continue reading"Closely connected communities are integral and essential to operations in order to meet student needs."
Continue reading"Our shared ambition to improve the lives of LGBT people in Scotland enables us to collaborate far more than to compete."
Continue reading"The role of integration in creating and then safeguarding authentic relationships within the community is of fundamental importance."
Continue reading"We felt as Scots with a Shia identity, we had to to highlight the diversity, inclusion and equality of all segments of Scottish society."
Continue reading"We hope it will encourage people to grow their own food, whilst caring for the environment too."
Continue reading"We offer safe spaces without judgement, where everyone is welcomed, accepted and listened to"
Continue reading"If you’re living in poverty, like most asylum seekers are, then a simple thing like a bicycle can have a massive impact on their lives."
Continue reading"These are prime examples of organisations successfully utilising innovation to overcome barriers."
Continue reading