An unused phone box in the village of Muthill, Perth and Kinross, in Scotland, has been turned into a community larder to help people through the coronavirus lockdown.
The small village is home to around 675 people, many of whom have struggled to access food and other essentials since the pandemic hit.
Corinna Robertson and Susan Crawford decided to offer their support to the community.
On 9 April they packed a red phone box with tinned goods, toiletries, fresh fruit and vegetables, and jigsaws and books. Since then, every day the phone box has been filled with items for the villagers to take as they need.
Garage worker Corrina, 52, was recently furloughed and became aware of how many people faced the prospect of being out of work.
Corinna said: ‘When all this kicked off got the coronavirus leaflets about self-isolation.
‘Volunteers put these self-isolation things through people’s doors, then we realised “this is worse than we thought”.
‘People are off work and have no income and it’ll take a while for them to get money through.
‘It’s only been up and running since April 9, it’s gone mental.
‘It’s filling up constantly. Someone’s been going up once a day to check things aren’t going out of date.
‘The response has been incredible.
‘The local pub which no longer has income donated chocolate Easter lollies for kids.
‘They’ve all just come together, it’s great community spirit.’
The friends are now considering continuing the community larder initiative even after lockdown ends.
They’ve realised that the pandemic will have lasting effects on residents of the village.
Corinna said: ‘We were talking about it being a good idea to continue it.
‘People might be in this predicament for a while – being behind with bills and stuff.
‘We’ve not properly discussed it but it’s a thought – it’s done so well.
‘It’s handy for those who can’t drive as well and don’t want to make an unnecessary trip into Crieff.
‘It’s “give what you want, take what you need and leave what you don’t”.’
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