The Larder was established in 2010 to fight poverty and hunger with dignity - providing food support, training and fair work opportunities to help local people “transition from surviving to thriving”.

It has to date helped more than 4,000 local people access training, delivered more than 200,000 meals to those experiencing food insecurity and now employs 36 local people. It runs a bespoke training academy, two thriving community shops, an artisan bakery and two community cafes offering their own freshly baked products in Broxburn, Livingston and Blackburn. As a social enterprise, all proceeds are reinvested into the sustainability and ongoing development of their training programmes and food poverty projects.

Through the academy, the charity provides vital training on employability, life skills and health and wellbeing, alongside cooking classes, barista qualifications and SQA qualifications. This all helps to build confidence and prepare and equip young people and adults for the world of work.

Foundation Scotland has proudly supported The Larder for over 12 years, making their first award in 2012. Since then, The Larder has received six further Social Investment awards from Foundation Scotland, totalling over £395,000.

Angela Moohan, CEO, The Larder, said: “The support we’ve received from Foundation Scotland, from the very beginning of our journey at The Larder, has been critical to our growth as an organisation and ultimately to our mission of helping transform local lives.

“We set up the charity to help practically tackle rising youth unemployment in West Lothian and we know we’ve changed lives, but we couldn’t have achieved this level of success without the partnership with Foundation Scotland. It’s not just about money, it’s the guidance, understanding and above all else their belief in our mission which has helped us continue to grow and develop our support at a time when our services have never been needed more.”

Ali Kennedy, social investment executive, Foundation Scotland, added: “The Larder is our longest-serving Social Investment partner. The growth we’ve witnessed from them across the last decade has been tremendous - they epitomise the definition of a successful social enterprise. Through their passion, determination, local knowledge and astute business sense, they’ve steadily grown their support into the thriving organisation it is today.

“We’re delighted that we continue to support their transformational journey through our Social Investment programme and look forward to witnessing their continued transformation over the years to come.

“We know there are other groups that urgently need support to get started or grow, and this is even more challenging in the current climate. We are encouraging all interested groups to visit our website or contact the Foundation Scotland team directly to discuss eligibility for our Social Investment programme.”