Community
Breakfast clubs
Scotmid has supported the breakfast club concept for around 8 years. Currently funding entirely clubs in Gorebridge, Loanhead, Roslin, Mayfield, Marykirk and Laurencekirk. It is recognized that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and many children go to school without it. As well as these fully funded breakfast clubs we also give financial assistance to 28 clubs across Edinburgh out of our Duke Street store. These clubs receive mainstream funding from City of Edinburgh Council and in areas where there is high uptake of free school meals.
Weaning Groups
Across the trading area we support local health visitors in delivering weaning classes to new mums and their babies. These classes offer up to date advise on current weaning recommendations. The classes also advise when it is appropriate to wean and provides practical sessions where mums can try out recipes and blind taste processed equivalents. At the end of the sessions Scotmid provides all attending mums with their own stick blender.
Food4Life
In collaboration with the Environmental Health Department of City of Edinburgh Council, Scotmid Co-op sponsored the Food4Life booklet which was passed on to all first year undergraduate students at all of the universities in Edinburgh. This booklet gave tips on food safety as many of these students were living away from home for the first time. It also includes handy easily prepared recipes. These booklets are available at fresher fairs and both council and Scotmid staff manned displays at these events where free fresh fruit and vegetables were on hand to sample. Scotmid also sponsors a competition based around food safety.
Donations
As a co-operative Scotmid demonstrates its concern for the communities where it has shops by giving vouchers to local groups and organizations to help them fund raise. Many of these donations are modest but we also give an annual donation of £50 to all local gala days who write in to us. Many playgroups, guide and scout packs etc have benefited from these donations.
Fruit for schools
The Scottish Executive has provided local authorities across Scotland with funding to provide all nursery, P1 and P2 children with free fruit three times a week. Scotmid Co-op has stepped in to supplement this by giving free fruit to P3-7 pupils three days a week as well. This is an expensive project and because of this is provided in short bursts across the trading area, in schools adjacent to our stores, many of which are in communities that are more socially deprived than others and where we are generally the only business in the area.