A SCHEME which has served up thousands of portions of soup has received a cash boost.

A two-year grant of £70,500 has been awarded to the Community Carrot in Dunbar, which operates a number of culinary projects.

The funding will ensure the continuation of popular, established initiatives including Sunny’s Kitchen, a weekly community meal; Sunny Soups, a food waste project that turns surplus ingredients into soup, which is then given away free of charge; and weekly free children’s cooking classes.

The schemes have been funded by the National Lottery for the past three years.

During this time, 5,345 portions have been served up at Sunny’s Kitchen, 7,015 portions have been given away through Sunny Soups, nearly 700 participants have taken part in cooking classes and nearly 900 people have taken part in activities overall.

The projects benefit from the support of volunteers of all ages, from teenagers working towards Duke of Edinburgh’s Award projects to retirees providing their time and skills on a regular basis.

Cook Club encourages youngsters to take steps on their culinary journey by learning about food (Image: Contributed)

The award will pay for two part-time roles, the community food outreach and communications lead, and a new community cook who will run the community meal, as well as support for cook club, a children’s weekly cooking skills group.

Hannah Ewan, community food outreach lead, was delighted with the funding boost from the National Lottery Community Led Fund.

The Community Carrot, previously known as the Crunchy Carrot, is a community-owned greengrocers and whole foods shop based on Dunbar High Street.

Hannah said: “We’re so grateful to the National Lottery for this funding, it’s wonderful to have continuity assured for our community projects for another two years.

“There have been so many positive moments over the past three years, from children learning to enjoy eating a range of vegetables and discovering a love and talent for cooking, to people making new friends at our community meal and through volunteering at Sunny Soups, to feeling like we’re making a difference by using up food that would otherwise have gone to waste.

“We’re delighted to be able to continue this work in our community.”