A GLASGOW charity based in Yoker has distributed more than 600 free meals to disadvantaged families in the last seven days.

Staff at Dumbarton Road Corridor (DRC) Youth Project, who provide free activities and employability support to young people across the North West, have identified the most vulnerable children they look after and their families. They teamed up with a local café, Dee Dees who funded, cooked and packaged the meals for the youth project to distribute.

They identified 50 families who potentially needed help.

Arthur McNeaney, project manager at the Yoker Resource Centre and DRC, said: “Since lockdown staff have been identifying likely young people and their families who need our help.

“With children not going to school and receiving a free school meal, some are going without food all day.

“That’s why we teamed up with local café Dee Dee’s and G.H. Davidson Butcher next door, which had closed, to make meals which would feed families in need.

“In the last week, we have delivered more than 600 meals to 20 families. We give each family two-three days-worth of food. There are usually about three people in each household but if there are more they can let us know.

“We have provided two meals and one soup per day (per person). We have made chilli and rice, mince and tatties, macaroni cheese and lentil soup.”

Mr McNeaney then explained that the organisation had to act quick to help these vulnerable members of the community, who relied on them, when the schools closed.

He said: “When the schools finally closed, we thought let’s strike quick. It is going to take a long time for this situation to end.

“We are trying to bridge the gap until other organisations are in a position to play their part.

“People have been getting in touch with us all the time through Facebook asking for help. We then need to make sure they have no other option available to them before we can deliver food.

“I would like to keep this initiative going but we need to do it right as there are a lot of people relying on us.

“I would also like to thank everyone who has supported this project and donated money and time so far. The staff at Dee Dee’s, Caroline and Coleen Sweeney, have been terrific as have G.H. Davidsons butchers who allowed us to use their fridge and freezer to store food.

“A massive thanks to all my staff at DRC as well, they have been amazing at figuring out the logistics of this exercise and those who require help the most.”