Paisley students win £3,000 for lifeline food charity

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A lifeline charity that tackles food insecurity has this week received a cash boost thanks to the efforts of local young people.The Darkwood Crew has been awarded £3,000 after its work caught the attention of pupils at Kibble’s Goudie Academy.Youngsters attending the Paisley school identified the charity as an organisation tackling some of the biggest problems facing the local community as part of their work with the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI).The programme - funded by the Wood Foundation - challenges young people to work together to identify social issues in their community and the charities successful in tacking them in a bid to win a grant for that organisation.The students saw the cost-of-living crisis and individuals experiencing bullying and harassment as amongst the biggest challenges facing people in Renfrewshire.The Kibble young people then worked closely with their selected charities, the Darkwood Crew and Respect Me, to create a video presentation that answered how the organisation would spend a £3,000 grant.Winning top prize and a £3k donation from The Wood Foundation was the Darkwood Crew, which aims to tackle food insecurity, fuel poverty, and isolation and loneliness in the Ferguslie area.Its community market aims to provide £15 worth of shopping every Thursday to those worst affected by the current cost-of-living crisis.Terry McTernan, Darkwood Crew community development worker, said: “The money received has helped us fully restock our community market to help navigate the cost-of-living crisis in the coming months.“We are expecting an uptake in demand, so this has helped us prepare and is a very welcome addition to our toolbox.“We are extremely grateful to have been awarded such a large sum of