A man who once had to walk six miles to the nearest foodbank is now back on his feet and determined to pay back the community that helped him.
Darren Gracey is best known in Alyth as the friendly face of the town’s foodbank and community hub, Food for Thought.
The 37-year-old has been a source of great support to locals during the pandemic, offering food parcels and information in a non-judgemental space.
He has been praised for his selflessness and his efforts to help those around him.
But it hasn’t always been plain sailing for Darren, who knows first-hand what it’s like to be in need.
He has used a foodbank before and, during flooding, lost his belongings.
The Alyth community didn’t hesitate to rally round to support him and teenage daughter Cameron when they needed it.
And now his work is driven by a determination to give back to the community that did so much for him.
Giving back to the community
Darren and Cameron lost everything when heavy flooding destroyed their home six years ago.
They had to stay with family while their home was repaired.
Darren said: “In 2015, the town flooded and me and my daughter lost everything bar the clothes we had on.
“We ended up having to stay with my mum for a couple of days.
“But the people of the town – they gave her toys, they gave me clothes, they helped us rip all the stuff from the house.
“So this, for me, is like a way of paying them back for something that they helped with.
“Getting involved with the town, you know, it’s just nice.”
He added: “The community spirit in Alyth is second to none. I have never lived anywhere where it is so strong.
“Everyone just loves to help where they can.”
How his experiences have shaped how he helps others
Darren can also empathise with many people who need that bit extra support.
His own experiences have shaped how he supports others around him.
He undertook a course at Perth College and, due to being in receipt of a student loan, was ineligible for many benefits.
This left him with little money for food.
He said he and his daughter once had to walk six miles to Blairgowrie foodbank to find it was closed, forcing them to walk back and return another time.
Las November, he told us information on support services need to be widely available.
“I would suggest that people need to be more informed of the benefits and support that is available,” he said.
“On a government level, it is about making people aware that this help is available.
“The thought of people struggling is sad.”
Fighting the stigma
Food For Thought – based on Airlie Street – began helping Alyth locals at the beginning of the Covid pandemic.
It began with volunteers, including Darren, delivering prescriptions to local people.
Since then, it has expanded to help locals with a range of things such as food and information.
He hopes to fight the stigma surrounding foodbank use and encourage those who may need a bit of extra support to ask for it.
He said: “It started in March last year at the start of the pandemic.
A lot of people need help but they don’t want to ask for it.”
Darren Gracey of Food for Thought, Alyth.
“I took over at the foodbank about summertime and we were just winging it really.
“It was quite high demand but a lot of people need help but they don’t want to ask for it. So it was really just a case of constantly being at people to say it is fine to ask for help.
“We are starting to fight that stigma that a foodbank is a bad place to be.”