Edinburgh locals gutted as 'vital' community centre foodbank faces closure

An Edinburgh charity faces having its vital cafe and food pantry removed from a local community centre in a decision which has left hundreds of people "so upset."

Goodies, a local charity which distributes surplus food around Edinburgh and operates a cafe at Southside Community Centre, say the decision has been made by trustees to hand over reins of the cafe to another operator.

With the charity initially given until the end of May before they are forced to cease operating, discussions are now ongoing with trustees and members of the Nicolson Street centre to have their contract extended.

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However, the CEO of the charity, Farrah Maryam, has expressed her concerns and says hundreds of vulnerable individuals who rely on the cafe and their food pantry may be left with nowhere to turn if they are forced out of the centre.

Since being contacted by Edinburgh Live, a spokesperson for the Southside Community Centre thanked Goodies for the contribution their cafe has brought to the centre and confirmed a 12-week contract was extended to May 31 from January.

They said the decision to examine the long term future of the cafe is a "complex" situation which involves the opinions of service users and takes into consideration the legal responsibility of trustees to act in the best interests of the charity.

Speaking to Edinburgh Live following the heartbreaking decision, Farrah said: "We came back to the cafe this year after it was rented out for the festival and have been doing it full time for about four months.

"It has been so successful but the board gave me a three month contract so I expressed it was a long term project and asked for them to review it as we do so much for the community. We have a food pantry, the cafe and freshly made food which is very affordable.

"However as we approached the three month point of the contract they put out the tender to see who else would be interested and a businessman ultimately offered more but as soon as the public found out they were outraged.

"We help a lot of people with mental health issues and who are vulnerable so some of them didn't know how to express the fact they wanted to keep this service. I asked if they could become members and put it to a vote but that was also difficult as some can't write."

According to Farrah, a meeting took place following the backlash over the decision to hand over the cafe to another business in which people relayed their concerns and how it would effect the wider community.

Another volunteer at the charity also contacted Edinburgh Live over the decision and said a petition which was left at the entrance to the cafe was signed by over 250 people in an attempt to keep it open.

They added how the cafe is a "cherished community hub" and the recent decision has led to the "dismay of its loyal patrons."

Farrah continued: "It's very sad because there is a lot of people who rely on us. I didn't even mention the petition in person or online and it received hundreds of signatures.

"There is quite a community we've built here. There was also a band who would come and play every Wednesday and they were a mental health charity who helped people through music but they have left as they are so upset with the situation.

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"Even the people who uses the classes are so upset and don't know they have any power.

"We have another community centre where we do weekend food bank work from but this is our every day thing people come in for on a regular basis. We're open five days a week and it's always a busy spot."

Farrah confirmed the charity is in talks to secure another space to continue their work with the charity determined to continue working with the community and vulnerable individuals who rely on their service.

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A spokesperson for the Southside Community Centre said: "The presence of the temporary Goodies café in the centre has been useful and welcome. We were pleased to be able to enter into a temporary agreement with Goodies SCIO to provide a cafe within the centre for period of twelve weeks, and to have been able to extend it further until May 31 2024.

"The Board needs to give consideration to the longer term use of the café. This is a complex area that involves taking into account the views of centre users, the legal responsibility of the charity’s trustees to act in the best interests of the charity, that a sustainable solution is found, and being confident that any cafe operator within the centre is able to operate in compliance of safety regulations . We continue to give the matter consideration."