Ellon Parish Kirk Centre
Ellon Parish Kirk Centre
EPC Basics Barn has developed from a foodbank into a Community Larder! A Community Larder & Community Fridge/Freezer is open to everyone. There's no shame in needing a hand but it can come with feelings of shame, failure, guilt, hopelessness and worse: judgment. The Larder provides a place where one person may be there for ecology to make use of food surplus, another for hard times, another for philanthropy, wanting to invest in this community, and another for all 3. No one knows who is for what and it won’t really matter. All are welcome to become members and to donate and make use. Our research shows that when we all use it, it works for sharing resources, ideas and swopping items you don't even remember buying as well as helping tackle food insecurity!
The café creatively uses surplus from local gardens and businesses to create soups and fine pieces and, of course, to serve fairly traded and sustainably sourced delicious teas and coffees. As well as reducing local waste, the "honesty box" nature (pay what you can) makes the ritual of going out for a cuppa accessible to all with friendly volunteers for anyone needing a blether. Thursday is soup day and Saturday is bacon roll/sausage softie day!
Café
Café
Shop
Shop
A development of our much loved Nearly New Sales, the "Pre-Loved Boutique" is symbolically priced, making shopping accessible and eco-friendly and includes pre-loved items from the community, new Tesco clothing surplus, and pop ups like Fairtrade, local highlights and specific larger sales. We're looking to encourage re-use and the circular economy and being great stewards.
Spaces
Spaces
We've been sprucing up and making improvements to the rooms and spaces which is already making a difference. The Kirk Centre is a great venue and useful for all sorts of groups and events - a real hub of community, information and gathering.
The Kirk Centre has been a central place in Ellon for the last couple of decades. As we look to the future of the Kirk Centre, we've been thinking about the space being more than just a building, but a place where the community can come together in warmth and welcome. And so we imagine a community where all are welcome, everyone and everything is treated with dignity, generosity and respect, and where everyone feels supported and empowered to support others.
To help us do that, we're developing four elements within the Kirk Centre: a larder, a café, a shop and 'spaces'.
The Kirk Centre has been a central place in Ellon for the last couple of decades. As we look to the future of the Kirk Centre, we've been thinking about the space being more than just a building, but a place where the community can come together in warmth and welcome. And so we imagine a community where all are welcome, everyone and everything is treated with dignity, generosity and respect, and where everyone feels supported and empowered to support others.
To help us do that, we're developing four elements within the Kirk Centre: a larder, a café, a shop and 'spaces'.
Larder (formerly Basics Barn)
Larder (formerly Basics Barn)