The General Store, Selkirk
Funding
CMHWB funding has allowed us to continue to run our social café, community larder and food bank from our premises in Murray St, Duns. The Larder and Café was set up in January 2024. It is open for four hours per week and we have had over 4,200 customer visits. The grant pays our rent and utilities and contributes towards our subscription to Cyrenians’ Fareshare. This, together with the money we make from the Pay as You Feel café and £2 minimum larder donations, allows us to offer a wide range of foods including meat, frozen foods and dairy products.
The impact of the grant is huge as without grant funding we would not be able to continue our work.
One of the goals of our larder is to provide people with access to good quality food in a dignified setting, including individuals who, by their own admission are hungry but would prefer not to use a food bank. Although the causes of and solutions for food poverty are complex, we have seen a marked decline in the number of referrals to the food bank since we opened the larder.
The Café / Larder has provided a warm and welcoming place for people to meet and connect. We offer everyone affordable food, free Wi-Fi and a place for a chat and a cup of tea. We also host, and collaborate with, agencies such as Sustainable Selkirk, Caledonian Credit Union and SBC’s What Matters Hub to support our customers practically and emotionally. The café / larder are open to everyone in Duns and the community as a whole benefits greatly from this green initiative.
We asked our customers to describe the importance of DFS to their wellbeing and our community:
“This larder has helped tremendously in terms of saving money, keeping my kitchen stocked and giving me a space where I feel cared about and accepted.”
“Food, friendship, support; Reducing stress, having a safe and welcoming place. It’s very good because supports a lot people.”
“Saving money, reducing waste, improving wellbeing. Safe and welcoming place, meeting people”
“Saving money, chatting with friends. A nice place to have a coffee and chat. I bring my daughter and she loves chatting to everyone and teaches her new values.”
“Gets me up and out of the house…. meeting new people”
“Feeling less isolated”
“Feeling less alone – boosting my day”
“Café means people can meet up for a chat and a cuppa. The larder is very handy for people getting things that they need. Coming to the larder means that you meet different people and has a good atmosphere.”
“The low-cost food is fantastic. We are new here, so coming to chat to others is great. Definitely has made me feel less isolated.”
“I know you do a great job for the local community and everyone you help, humans & animals.”
“Thank you, Duns Fair Share.”
The food bank is also based at our Murray Street premises, so it is a beneficiary of the grant. The food bank provides an essential safety net for those experiencing food poverty throughout most of Berwickshire. In the twelve months ending 31st August 2025, it provided enough food and toiletries to support 710 individuals (some of these are repeat referrals). A goal of our larder is to continue to reduce food bank reliance.
DFS has increased its volunteer numbers from 20 in 2023 to 49 in 2025. Our volunteers enjoy the opportunity to build community ties and to interact with others. We have encouraged both food bank clients and Café/Larder customers to volunteer with us and a number of these individuals are currently working with our teams. Two of our current volunteers have obtained certificates of achievement in Food Hygiene and Safety for Catering and two have joined our Board.
Since receiving the grant in April, we have been able to increase the food offered at our larder significantly to include frozen meals and meats. Our opening hours are dictated by volunteer availability, but we are hoping to open a third session, possibly over a weekend.
We have built very positive connections with the Hugo Burge Foundation and Abundant Borders. These organisations provide us with vegetables and fruit of very high quality, and it has been gratifying to note how popular these are with many of our customers who can now access healthy food at affordable prices. We have also consolidated and developed our links with Duns Co-op, Greenvale (potatoes), Farne (salmon), Eildon Housing Association and Berwickshire Housing Association (BHA).
BHA have told us that:
“the opportunities and assistance provided by Duns Fair Share have been instrumental to the positive wellbeing, resilience and continued independent living for many of our customers in Duns. Their vital work makes a difference to many people in our community.”
Duns Social Work use the premises to meet clients every week and have told us that we:
“bring significant value to the local community by offering a welcoming space that promotes inclusion, reduces isolation, and provides access to essential resources such as The What Matters Hub (Social Work outreach Hub)”.
Funding has allowed us to become a consistent fixture in Duns and for our customers to know we are here week in, week out. We have been able to extend our food offer to make the larder more attractive. We have also attracted new food bank volunteers because our premises are more suitable than our previous location in a garage.
Depending on volunteer availability, we are hopeful of extending the café / larder hours to at least 3 sessions a week. We have also opened a dialogue with A Heart for Duns (AHFD), the development trust for Duns & District and custodians of Duns Volunteer Hall, to become a preferred partner and potentially occupy space once the Volunteer Hall is redesigned and refurbished in the next 2 to 5 years.
We have been happy with the process and appreciative of the support provided. In particular, we appreciated the early communication of the success of our application and the prompt payment of funds in January 2025.
We have no specific support needs from BCA currently. We have applied for a 2025 Mental Health Awareness Grant to help fund our operations through 2026 & 2027.
