A NEW community initiative will help alleviate food poverty in the Wee County.

Sauchie Active 8 has been allocated nearly £16,000 from a Scottish Government fund to deliver a project, which will promote healthy eating and help people cook on a small budget.

The local team is one of 16 foodbanks and community groups from across Scotland to receive a share of £350,000.

Back from the holidays, Sauchie Active 8 is currently working on all the details to put everything in place.

The group's Sandra Gruar said she and her team were delighted to receive the funding and are very much looking forwards to kick-starting the project.

It is understood they will be working with various organisations, creating opportunities for people to learn how to cook healthy and nutritious meals with just a few ingredients on a small budget.

People will also have the chance to use the local allotments to grow their own food, with more details and opportunities to be confirmed in the near-future.

The money came as part of the second allocation of the £1million Fair Food Fund, which is already providing assistance to 20 other projects in the country.

Announcing the grants was communities secretary Angela Constance, who said: “Everybody in Scotland should have access to fresh and healthy food and these projects ?will help people across the country who are struggling to feed themselves and their families, while reducing the reliance on emergency food provision.

“We have been clear that UK Government welfare cuts and benefit sanctions have continually pushed more and more people into food poverty and increased the demand and number of food banks in Scotland.

“This shocking trend has to stop, and we will continue to fight those changes. Relying on foodbanks is unacceptable and it’s something we want to eradicate. No one should need face those conditions in a modern country.

“Our ambition is to help community initiatives to support people in a dignified way and try to address the underlying causes of food poverty, and it’s encouraging to see people and organisations coming together to deliver programmes that reflect this.”