Helping a Glasgow food bank strengthen its ability to deliver crucial services to the community

Carntyne Riddrie is a not-for-profit food bank serving people in one of the most deprived areas of Glasgow. Bolted on to the Carntyne and Riddrie Credit Union it helps the local community by giving food to those who need it. It is non-referral based so anyone can just turn up and it supports thousands of people each year. The food bank is run by a team of volunteers and relies solely on donations to operate.

The Challenge

The food bank has high demand, which has increased significantly over recent months and always welcomes more support, whether it be donations of food, more volunteers to help get the food to those in need, or some expert time to strengthen the food bank’s services and how it delivers for the community.

The Solution

The team from Sunbelt Rentals Regional Social Impact Committee (RSIC) in Scotland took the opportunity to kickstart its support for the food bank as part of the companies Big Winter Donation Drive.

The RSIC is part of an internal network who work towards the Our Planet strategy at a local level, from our depots and regions. They regularly run campaigns and support causes that matter to them and in areas where they live and work. They launched the Sunbelt Rentals Big Winter Donation Drive2022, which saw different charities supported in the last three months of the year, with December focusing on helping food banks across the UK.

To find a local food bank for the Big Winter Donation Drive, members from the Scotland RSIC visited Carntyne Riddrie. The team saw the high levels of demand for its services, the crucial support it offers to the most vulnerable in the community and the dedication from all volunteers and were instantly moved to galvanise as much support as possible.

Watch the videos we produced to help Carntyne Food Bank here:

Video to generate donations:

Video to offer support to those who need it:

The Results

On the same day as the team’s first visit to the food bank they arranged for a delivery later that week of some essential items to boost its operating capacity. This included six refrigerators, microwaves, and kettles, totalling 18 essential items.

To gather as many food donations as possible, the RSIC reached far and wide. They worked with Sunbelt teams in depots across Scotland, clients local to the area, and the wider supply chain to raise donations worth £1,500 in just a few weeks. They also spent 30 hours volunteering at the food bank in one of its busiest periods leading up to Christmas.

The RSIC developed a great working relationship with the founder of the food bank, John Lyons. They worked closely with him to discuss its future operating model, offering further, more strategic support to assist in helping it to continue to meet the high demand and bring a crucial service to the local community.

This led to the delivery and donation of a shipping container for the safe and secure storage of more food. It also resulted in a full digital brand and marketing package being created, which included the

Design of a new logo
Building of a digital online presence by delivering a new website and social media pages
Development of a brand, tone, style guidelines with templates
Creation of two full promotional films

In just a few months, we have made a significant impact for the food bank. In total so far, over the course of three months we have donated

£1,500 food
100 volunteering hours, with 60 being skilled hours given by experts
18 items of equipment plus a shipping container
Digital marketing package, with films

The strong links now created with the Carntyne Riddrie food bank means we are continuing our support, with the Regional Social Impact Committee at Sunbelt Rentals making it one of their long-term supported charities.

Douglas Smith, Sales Director Scotland and North England at Sunbelt Rentals and a key member of the RSIC said, “Seeing poverty front and centre in your home City is heart-breaking, but the love, humility and hard work carried out by John Lyons and his team of volunteers at the Carntyne and Riddrie food bank in Glasgow is heart-warming and truly humbling. I would like to thank my teammates, suppliers, and customers for their very generous donations.”

Thank you so much to the team at Sunbelt Rentals for their guidance, support, and generous donations. This food bank is a lifeline to many, and we put our all in to being able to deliver as much as we can for those who need us. Your help matters and makes a huge difference.

John Lyons - Director of the Carntyne and Riddrie Food Bank