THE Lammermuir Hills will be swapped for the Himalayas to raise money for Dunbar FoodShare.

Shona Thomson flies out to Nepal tomorrow (Thursday), where she will trek among some of the world’s tallest mountains.

Already, the 47-year-old has raised more than £5,000 for the good cause, which aims to help people access food and essential toiletries.

Shona, who runs catering company Barbarella Beets, has teamed up with East Lothian-based Ocean Vertical for the trip of a lifetime.

She said: “Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of catering Christmas lunches for this amazing organisation – starting by packaging meals that were delivered to those in need and then, last year, we were able to host a big lunch.

“It was a powerful and heartbreaking experience to see people just like us who were struggling to feed themselves and their families.

“Now that my girls are both in school and I have a little more time, I felt it was time to do something for myself.

“This trek is my personal challenge but I wanted to add some extra motivation by raising funds for a cause that means so much to me.”

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Before setting foot on a plane, Shona, who lives at Thorntonloch, has surpassed her fundraising target of £4,000.

Last month, she held a charity dinner in Dunbar Parish Church Hall to raise funds.

Shona, who is married to plumber and gas engineer Mark, thanked all of the businesses and individuals who had supported her.

She said: “I cannot believe it and I am so overwhelmed by everybody that donated.”

Earlier this month, a charity sound bath took place to raise further funds for the good cause.

Shona, who is mum to Summerette, 11, and five-year-old Aurora-Rose will spend a fortnight in the Asian country, including an eight-day trek through Mardi Himal.

The mum-of-two said: “I do a lot of corporate events for Ocean Vertical.

“They are based down at Foxlake and for the last couple of years they have gone out there.

“I have been super keen to go but I have never had time with the business and the wee ones.

“After Aurora-Rose started school, I had a bit of time back for myself and quite fancied the trip to Nepal.”

Margaret Croft, from Dunbar FoodShare, thanked Shona for the fundraising success ahead of what could be a challenging winter for many people.

She said: “It is an enormous amount of money for us.

“We are just so grateful to Shona for this. It is going to massively help us.

“It costs us a lot of money each to do Dunbar FoodShare and the social café.

“This is going to be a blessing for us, especially ahead of the winter.”

To make a donation, go to justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Barbarella-Beets-Mardi-Himal