COMFORT food, central heating and a good chat are all being offered for free in Dunfermline following the launch of a new initiative.

The Warm and Well project, organised by husband-and-wife team Tim and Mel Thomson, as part of the Embracing Life Community Interest Company, is to run each Wednesday night at the Vine Church.

The aim is to give people a hot meal and chance to socialise, without worrying about the cost of rising energy bills.

The first session was hosted by around 20 volunteers, with visits from Provost of Fife Jim Leishman and Dunfermline MSP Shirley-Anne Somerville.

"It was brilliant, it was such a lovely start, we had so many volunteers join and teams from the community, a lot of them had never been in the building before and didn't really know us very well so there were a lot of new things going on," Mel told the Press.

"Everyone was so enthusiastic and pulled together in a lovely way. There was a nice buzz and people that were coming in enjoyed the experience.

"We tried to make it like we were serving them at a proper restaurant, it wasn't just like a soup kitchen idea, it's more like sit down, you get served, you get what you need and you get a good chat as well in a community atmosphere."

The programme is an extension of the Revive Wellbeing Hub and Cafe which runs in the church from Monday to Thursday and serves teas, coffees and lunches, as well as hosting activities such as parent and toddler classes.

Mel added: "It's been good to be able to open in the evenings.

"During the week we run a normal cafe, it's reasonable, we keep the prices low, but a Wednesday evening is about coming in, having somewhere warm, not having to flick the heating on at that cold time between 5pm and 8.30pm when it does get chilly.

"We had mac and cheese – it has good calories, it's warming – next week is cottage pie and vegetables. Everything is free, free tea and coffee and biscuits, we might extend the menu but we are keeping it simple at the moment."

And they have applied for funding from Fife Voluntary Action to keep the project going as long as possible.

More than 30 people attended the first session – some booked and others walked in – with more expected in the coming weeks at the 60-person-capacity venue.

The idea was put in motion earlier this year after Mel met Ms Somerville to discuss what could be done in the winter months.

Mel explained: "A friend of mine in England put up a post, he had a dream of creating pop-up restaurants around the country where people could come for free but get a restaurant experience and somewhere warm to go, where they wouldn't feel that there was a stigma attached. It was just a place where they would come and get refreshed.

"We have had an amazing amount of support from the Vine Church. They have been amazingly helpful and we are very fortunate to have a very large facility with a pleasant environment – it's not your average church hall, we have sofas and nice things to make it a bit more relaxing."

Ms Somerville said: "It's really amazing what they and all the volunteers have pulled together in such a short period of time.

"Of course, it's a travesty that projects like this are needed in 2022, but we are all having to find solutions to the problems caused by the continued chaos at Westminster.

"Many households will be left struggling this winter and it's heartening to see the local community once again step up during a crisis.

"I've been speaking to a number of other groups across the constituency to try and get similar projects underway, to support our community during these difficult times.

"I would strongly urge any organisation looking to set something up to apply for a grant from the Fife Community Warm Spaces Fund before the November 4 deadline."

Warm and Well will run each Wednesday night from the Vine Church between 5pm and 8.30pm. You can drop in at any time to receive a meal and can book a place via Eventbrite to help the team control numbers.