A MEALS on wheels style initiative supporting residents around Dollar and beyond has moved kitchen to continue the project.

The Playpen Café CIC and its Lunch Club at Home project last week took up residence at the former Dollar Golf Club's clubhouse kitchen.

It follows a stint at Dollar Academy's kitchen over the summer.

With the return of young people to education, Playpen founder and CEO Alexandra Ostroumoff-Croucher took time to meet with the academy's bursar Justin Wilkes and new rector Ian Munro to personally thank them.

She told the Advertiser: "We are so indebted to the academy for offering us use of their fantastic kitchen.

"Without their support, we could never have reached so many people during lockdown, when such a large proportion of our elderly community were isolated and vulnerable."

The coronavirus lockdown food initiative has been supporting elderly, shielding and disabled residents with hot meals twice a week.

It covers Dollar, Muckhart as well as villages in the Fossoway area.

This month the Lunch Club at Home reached a milestone, producing 1,404 meals.

Thanks to the offer of the use of the vacant kitchen at the golf club, the project is set to continue into the autumn.

Alexandra said: "Again, we have been very fortunate finding local support, this time from the Poett family and the Harviestoun estate who are allowing us to use the vacant kitchen to continue our charitable work."

The food project does not only seek to make sure people receive a nutritious meal.

It also helps to combat isolation and loneliness as volunteers delivering the meals are always happy to have a bit of a chat while socially distancing.

Indeed, feedback from recipients highlighted how friendly faces can brighten people's day while making a difference to their diets.

More than half of recipients in the project are older than 80 and around a third are over 90 years old.

Many live alone, have disabilities or physical impairments.

However, as lockdown eases and people begin to return to work, there is a risk the volunteer pool will gradually shrink.

Alexandra is appealing for more to join the ranks at the Lunch Club at Home.

Anyone keen to spare some time to help out in the kitchen or to deliver food in the community can email alexandra@theplaypencafe.co.uk for more details.