Boomerang Food Larder: Repeated break-ins force temporary closure of community larder

Repeated break-ins have forced a community larder to close temporarily as organisers issue a plea to locals in need.

The Boomerang Food Larder in Stobswell, Dundee, has been broken into three times in the past two weeks.

The facility shut its doors on Friday after windows were broken and a small amount had been stolen.

The centre was then broken into again on Monday morning, causing the larder to close for another day.

Organisers are appealing to anyone who needs help to come in and ask for it.

Jill Bain, Centre Manager said: “They broke in through the window and just grabbed a small amount of food each time and then left again quite quickly.

“What we are finding most frustrating is if they had come into the centre and spoken to us, we would have helped them. And I think that’s really what we want to get across. Please just come in, don’t be breaking in, just come in and we will help you.”

The cost of living crisis has seen a rise in people needing help from organisations like Boomerang, who are part of the Dundee Food Network.

Statistics from the Trussell Trust show that in the past year, over three thousand more food parcels were distributed in Dundee, when compared to the year before.

In the year from March 2021-2022 12,944 parcels were distributed and the following year 15,991 parcels were distributed.

Volunteer Moira Prophet said: “We have seen a lot of people coming here and we are even seeing people who are working, because they are low wage earners.

“They need this to top up their food for during the week because a lot of them have families and kids. Especially now with the schools being on holiday, they’re definitely needing food to see them over because there’s no schools meals.”

Even though the larder was only closed for a few days, it has had a big impact.

Linda Anderson, another volunteer said: “A lot of people come in and they get food that does them for a few days at least and they can make a meal out of what we’ve got here.

“We do get a lot of Ukrainians and Afghans people like that, it would be a big impact because they would come here thinking that they would be getting their food for the weekend and we’d be closed.”