Making a difference in Scotland’s communities

Cyrenians project

Cyrenians operate several social enterprises that contribute to our mission of supporting people excluded from family, home, work and their local community. They are sustainable businesses that tackle waste and promote circular economies and all the money they raise supports our ongoing work.

Cyrenians Farm is a working farm based in West Lothian. It is home to our outdoor education programme and our thriving residential community. Over the past year, we produced four tonnes of fruit, vegetables and other produce – enough for over 9,000 meals. 

Arnotdale House is situated in the beautiful grounds of Falkirk’s Dollar Park, hosting a family-friendly cafe and boutique charity shop. This year, we welcomed over 10,000 visitors and our cafe provided more than 1,000 free drinks and meals through our “Pay it Forward” community support scheme. 

In Leith, our Fareshare Depot is a thriving surplus food hub connecting local community to good quality food that is still within date but removed from shop shelves. 

Through our depot, we distributed 234,000 meals worth of food, which supports over 20,000 families and individuals in need through our community food network. Food waste accounts for 8 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and our enterprise saves 415 tonnes of CO2 every month.

Inspiring experiences 

Last year hundreds of people took part in corporate volunteering experiences with Cyrenians and every single one represents an amazing connection between businesses in our community and our work to tackle the causes and consequences of homeless.

Businesses engage with us in different ways and its wonderful when corporate volunteering can be part of a longer-term partnership. For example, housing construction company Taylor Wimpey sponsor our Fareshare vans and have sent several staff teams to help pick, pack, and deliver orders. 

Restaurant chain Fazenda, which has a site in George Street, Edinburgh, have sent volunteering teams to our Farm several times. They have also created an exclusive cocktail for the Edinburgh restaurant which uses our produce and for every drink sold we receive a proportion of the profits. 

To find out more about Cyrenians visit Cyrenians.scot.