From Sunday 9th June, Drygate Brewing Co, the host venue of the annual Beer Makes Glasgow festival, will be exchanging one can of its beer for every can of food that is handed in to the brewery.
Those bringing in food can choose from Bearface Lager, Crossing the Rubicon IPA, Chimera India Pale Lager, or Dark Skies.
Although all donations are welcome, Drumchapel Food Bank have requested the following items: tinned meatballs, tinned beans & sausages, tinned chilli, tinned custard, tinned rice pudding, and tinned fruit.
Drygate will also accept donations of instant noodles, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper, size 4/5/6 nappies and other household essentials (all of which are in short supply).
These will then be donated to Drumchapel Food Bank, but beer will not be exchanged for these items as part of the can swap initiative.
Some terms and conditions apply; to ensure that swappers are not left disappointed, the Drygate team have asked that all swaps are made from Sunday to Thursday inclusive, when they aren’t at their busiest and may not have staff free to handle the exchange.
Standard ID checks and age restrictions on the sale of alcohol will apply. There is a six can limit per donation, to ensure responsible drinking is observed. The team will not accept any food items with less than three months remaining on their shelf life. The brewery intends to run this initiative indefinitely, but will review it periodically to ensure it remains viable.
Matt Corden, managing director of Drygate Brewing Co, said: “Drumchapel Food Bank do fantastic work in their community to help those who need it most. Across our team, we’re aware of how fortunate our positions are. Not everyone is able to support themselves or their families, and we feel it’s the responsibility of those who can, to aid those who can’t.
"We were introduced to the incredible work done by the Drumchapel Food Bank via the annual Beer Makes Glasgow festival, the proceeds of which are donated to the charity.
"When we saw their recent post stating they were struggling with food donations, a member of our team had the brilliant idea of running a can swap, which we’ve instigated as soon as possible.
"We’d also like to encourage other breweries to do the same, or find other ways to help local food banks. We know beer is a luxury item - our industry is not essential, so it’s crucial that those of us in privileged positions do what we can to help those in need of the basics."
Ryan McGeady of Drumchapel Food Bank, said: “As one of the only self-funded food banks in Scotland, we rely 100 per cent on the efforts of our team and the donations of the public to be able to carry out our mission.
"We’d like to thank Drygate for running this initiative, and we hope the good people of Glasgow take part and help us to get food into the hands of those who need a helping hand. We’d also like to take this opportunity to mention that we accept other donations, and have other ways to donate – just get in touch!”
