AN SNP councillor who fought for Cafe Inc to be put back on the menu in Rosyth has been nominated for an award.
Brian Goodall, who represents the town, was "disgusted" to discover last year that the programme, which aims to tackle school holiday hunger by offering free healthy and fresh food, wasn't going ahead in South and West Fife.
He and fellow councillors on the area committee forced a u-turn and that's led to him being put up for the Councillor of the Year, which is awarded by the Local Government Information Unit.
Cllr Goodall, who is in the running to be the SNP candidate for the Dunfermline and Dollar seat in the next UK General Election, told the Press: “This is a real honour and testament to just how important, during this cost of living crisis, it is to get the Café Inc service right."
The initiative, which will return for the October school holidays, is put on by Fife Council and it's open to children, young people and families.
Those who attend are welcome to a free packed lunch and it's offered at a variety of locations between 11:45am and 1pm Monday to Friday.
READ MORE: Wrap-around services for those who need it most
However, last October catering services said they “didn’t have the capacity” to run Cafe Inc at Park Road Primary School in Rosyth, didn’t want to run it at Dalgety Bay as “numbers were very low” previously, and questioned why it should run in Rosyth, Inverkeithing and Inzievar when there were volunteer-run services nearby.
They “didn’t have capacity” at Saline either, adding that food could be prepared at Torryburn but would need to be picked up and taken to Saline.
Councillors reacted with disbelief and Cllr Goodall helped force an about-turn, with Cafe Inc restored across South West Fife.
This week he said: “The cost of living crisis has seen more and more families in Fife struggling to make ends meet and when I found out that Cafe Inc had not fully recovered from the impact of the pandemic, and was only being delivered fully in some parts of Fife, I felt it was vital that a full five day a week service was delivered in Rosyth and the other parts of Fife who had been missing out.
“Getting it right for Rosyth encouraged me to help ensure a complete Fife-wide review of Cafe Inc was undertaken, and the councillors working group that was set up at my request will soon be reporting back on how school holiday lunches and additional family support can be provided in a fair and sustainable way across Fife in the future.”
It's back this month and for the first week of the holidays, beginning on Monday October 9, the locations will be the James Allan Centre, Lynburn Primary School and the Vine Church, in Dunfermline, That Place in the Bay, in Dalgety Bay, Crossgates Community Centre, Kings Road Primary School in Rosyth and Inverkeithing Primary School.
The following week Cafe Inc will run at Touch Community Centre, the James Allan Centre, Lynburn Primary and Gillespie Church, all in Dunfermline, and again at Crossgates, That Place in the Bay, Kings Road and Inverkeithing primary schools.
EATs Rosyth will also host on the two Wednesdays during the holidays. The service is open and there is no need to register, so walk-ins are welcome.
This week it's also been confirmed that Cllr Goodall is one of three possible SNP candidates for the next general election to the UK Government, for the newly created Dunfermline and Dollar seat.
All SNP members within the constituency will get to vote for their preferred candidate from the October 12 to 26.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here