At the back of a supermarket car park in Innerleithen lies a small wooden shed. It might not look much, but for many locals in the town it has been a lifesaver, writes Hilary Scott...

THE Swap and Share Shed opened at the beginning of the year in response to the rising needs of the community struggling to make ends meet as the pandemic tightened its grip.

Through donations from local supermarkets and a FareShare subscription, around 750 kilograms of food per week passes through the shed.

It is estimated that about 500 people per week are benefitting based on the assumption that they get five per cent of their food from it.

Even though the need does not seem to be waning, the project tagged as ‘community-owned and community run’, is struggling due to a lack of volunteers to help run it.

A number of its volunteers were either working from home or on furlough and as restrictions have eased so has the time that people were able to offer.

The shed is run completely by volunteers who carry out various tasks taking between 20-60 minutes per week.

Gordon Daly one of the founders of the community project, said: “We have an amazing group of volunteers who all chip in to do what they can. The trouble is we just don’t have enough people to fill all the slots.

“The need is growing and the donations are available but to keep the machine running we need a few more cogs in the wheel.”

Residents in the town have proved they are a sharing community going by the donations that are ploughed into the shed each week.

But they are now needed to share the workload.

Volunteer, Aimee Swartz, said that she helps out at the shed every week.

She said: “I normally need to go to the Co-op a few times a week anyway so I just plan those trips around my shed duty. It doesn’t take long once you get into the swing of things and I often have a nice chat with someone coming to use the shed. It feels good to be helping with this community-building project and makes me grateful to live in such a wonderful community.”

If you would like to volunteer, contact at tweeddaleactiongroup@gmail.com, visit the Facebook group ‘Innerleithen Swap & Share Shed’ or phone Aimee on 07572 177758.