Youth Beatz: food donation

Food Donation Project Returns for Youth Beatz 2022!

Youth Beatz Festival will take place at Parkfarm Showfield, Dumfries on Saturday 25^th and Sunday 26^th June 2022!

The event, co-designed with young people, is Scotland’s Largest Free Music Festival but there’s more to it than meets the eye. Community and volunteering are at the core of the Youth Beatz ethos and the event is focussed on providing a free activities, opportunities and experiences for children, young people and their families at no cost.

In 2019, following on from discussions around the ever-increasing demand for foodbanks across Dumfries and Galloway, the youth steering group established the Food Donation Project which asked all ticket holders who were in a position to donate, to bring along an item of foodstuff for donation when they entered the event. The project was a success with over 48,200 individual items donated over the course of the weekend with the donations divided between 3 food providers.

For 2022, in light of the increasing cost of living, the youth steering group feel the need for this project to return is greater than ever. All ticketholders for 2022, are invited to bring along one food item that they can deposit in the Food Donation Drop Box at the entrance on the festival days if they are able to do so. Donation is not a condition of entry.

We have recently been working alongside Food Providing Organisations from across the region and are delighted to have 6 providers on board for this year’s event from every locality in Dumfries and Galloway. Volunteers from 3 providers will be on hand each day at the gate to collect and sort donations.

Paul Smith, from The Fed Up Café, Stranraer said “YouthBeatz is a great example of how Dumfries and Galloway Council and a group of local charities can come together to work in partnership with the local community to receive donations of food that then benefit people within our community whom are greatly affected by poverty. The food, so generously donated by young people, is then used by the groups to produce food parcels and hot meals that can assist in the alleviation of food poverty across Dumfries & Galloway.

We are proud to be working with Dumfries & Galloway Council’s Youth Work, Poverty and Inequalities Teams and other Food Bank groups for a second time since 2019 and we very much hope this is a permanent fixture at Youthbeatz”.

The organisations involved in the Food Donation Project 2022 are:

• Kate’s Kitchen
• Lochside Community Association
• The Fed Up Café
• Rhins Basics Banks
• Summerhill Community Association
• Stepping Stones, Castle Douglas

Any donation would be greatly appreciated however it is asked that donations are items such as tinned meat, vegetables and fruit, biscuits, cereals, pasta and rice, baby products inc. formula and toiletries. Items that are perishable or have a shelf life of days or weeks are not able to be accepted i.e. frozen items, milk, cheese, yoghurts, eggs, bread, or fresh meat or vegetables.

Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Chair of Communities Committee, Councillor Archie Dryburgh said “The Food Donation Project returning will enable many food providers across our region to get more packages to families in their local communities. More than ever before we are seeing increased use of food banks due to the rising cost of living crisis and this initiative will have a direct impact on children, young people and adults most in need”.

This was echoed by Councillor John Campbell, Vice-Chair of Communities Committee who said “The current cost of living crisis is putting more pressure on individuals and families than ever before and this project will support Third Sector Organisations to provide for our communities in need. I am grateful to the young people who have been involved in the planning phases who have made the decision to bring this worthwhile and impactful project back for a second year”.

If you would like more information about what is on for this year’s Youth Beatz Festival, please ensure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and check out our website www.youthbeatz.co.uk