East Lothian Roots & Fruits and Heron Bros.
East Lothian has lower levels of deprivation than most local authorities in Scotland. However, small areas of Prestonpans, Tranent, and Elphinstone fall within the most deprived 20% of areas in Scotland.
East Lothian Roots & Fruits provides a range of services to tackle poverty and health in the East Lothian region. Services include:
- Weekly fruit & veg box deliveries
- A delivery service to housebound, disabled and isolated people who are unable to access their food co-ops
- A small community garden
- Health promotion sessions
- Activities for children throughout the school holidays.
- Bite and Blether lunch club
East Lothian Roots & Fruits aims to tackle inequalities and address barriers to health by bringing its services to more people in the community, particularly those identified as having low incomes, being at risk, being isolated, and being hard to reach.
Each year, they launch a Christmas Appeal focused on families and elders in need and ask for donations of gifts/toys for children and elderly people or vouchers for food for families. The aim is that no one goes without at Christmas.
'The Match'
Heron Bros are an award-winning construction and property development company which operates throughout the UK, Ireland and Europe.
They are constructing the Edinburgh Innovation Hub, a significant joint venture between East Lothian Council, Queen Margaret University and the ESES City Region Deal.
They aim to secure wider social, economic, and environmental benefits for the communities they work in, and each year, one of the activities they participate in is a ‘Christmas Wish’ campaign. In 2024, they worked in partnership with East Lothian Roots & Fruits.