WHEN lockdown sprung in mid-March, Britain entered a state of lockdown that was both a first and most likely a once in a lifetime experience for us all. Our time spent outside was limited, social interactions were significantly curtailed if not entirely expelled, and jobs put on pause in a period of months that one would hazard will live long in our memories.

While there was a locking up of pubs, restaurants and shops, there was very much an opening up in other senses. Around the country, communities came together to support the vulnerable and one another while the nation remained in a state of emergency.

Feldy-Roo, inventive if not quite original in its name, was birthed on March 19 in the Perthshire town of Aberfeldy after over-70s were told that they had to go into shielding as coronavirus cases surged, limiting their safe access to food. Gavin Price, who owns three pubs in Aberfeldy and is the manager of Elgin City FC, set up the free food delivery service for over-70s along with staff members at the Fountain Bar to use up empty stock, knowing that his business had the means for other people’s needs. Over a proceeding number of weeks, what started as a small project quite literally took off.

As needs became evident, the town of Aberfeldy and its people continually delivered care for their elderly residents during some of the countries hardest months, as more and more volunteers joined the Feldy-Roo project. Eventually serving up over 40,000 meals to over 250 households twice a day for a number of months.

“Back in March, it began from one of my pubs in Aberfeldy the Fountain Bar quite innocently to start with,” admitted Price. “Once we got told to lockdown, we thought it was a good idea to use up all excess stock that we had in all the pubs and get it out to people who were told to self-isolate. We noticed straight away that it was having quite an impact.

“The first day we only delivered to 10 homes, the next day it doubled, the next day it doubled again, so by the end of the week we were delivering to about 100 different homes in Aberfeldy.

“It really just took off, other businesses got in touch to offer their support so we could share the kitchen work. We decided to do two meals a day, a lunch service and an evening service. We did a go fund me page and raised a lot of money very quickly, a lot of local businesses gave financial support. So, within two weeks it really grew arms and legs {to the point that} we were providing 14 meal {services} a week, twice a day with a newspaper.

“It just kept expanding from there, it was like a snowball effect, it was incredible the way the whole community came together and within a matter of weeks it had just exploded. We were lucky to put a good funding team together who got access to a lot grant support, from the National Lottery, SSE, from various other places and in the end we raised about £135,000 to fund the project which was pretty mental.”

And then came royal recognition. After Price was awarded an MBE on the Queen's Birthday Honours List earlier this month, he was quick to distance himself as sole benefactor from the recognition which in all senses was totally a team effort. He tweeted out after the MBE was announced that despite his bemusement, he had accepted the award “on behalf of Feldy-Roo, Aberfeldy and all the volunteers that were involved in the project”. Stating the award was won by the efforts of the Aberfeldy.

Price was evidently keen to direct the attention received from the MBE onto all those who had given up their time for the project, he said: “That’s the most important thing. If I’m being honest I was a little bit confused as to whether or not I should accept {the MBE} as it didn’t sit right with me. But speaking to my parents I thought accepting it on behalf of Feldy-Roo was the thing to do because I think it’s a thing for the community, it’s a thing Aberfeldy should be proud of. Not me, it’s not about an individual, it has always been about the team and the community this project. I said that on twitter, ‘Feldy-Roo MBE’ and I very much meant that.”

In many ways, lockdown appeared to remind us of what community is and just how crucial it can be. At its peak, Feldy-Roo boasted 140 volunteers, all of whom got involved on their own accord.

Price continued: “It was quite an easy sell. It helped obviously with people having time on their hands, and as much as it was a lifeline for the residents, it was also quite a lifeline for the volunteers. I’ve spoken to volunteers who said it gave them good structure to their day and probably helped their mental health during the lockdown {as} it gave them a little bit of routine.

“It just became a family if you like, within this community. There’s relationships now that are really strong and that have made life better in Aberfeldy because people are communicating more, people are helping each other more and I think that’s the kind of legacy that will withstand. You see even the businesses, I’m quite embarrassed to say I didn’t know a lot of these people in these businesses and probably just saw them as competitors rather than allies.

"That’s been {another} good thing, you see everyone helping one another out now and giving advice. Obviously the 40,000 meals that we did was an amazing thing, but I think more so is the social benefits that the projects had on the community and hopefully will do in the future.”

So, what now? Feldy-Roo may not be delivering around the clock anymore, as furlough ends, and free time begins to become a commodity. But that’s not to say that the spirit and care demonstrated by the community throughout 2020 is going anywhere.

Asked if he believed that the togetherness shown throughout lockdown would remain, Price said: “I hope so, it’s such a strong community and things like this sometimes bring out the best in people, businesses and everybody. It’s been a really good thing and hopefully a legacy that will last for years to come. It brought the community together in ways that I certainly never envisaged, this is something that evolved it’s not something that was planned, but it was really, really good to see it happening right in front of you. It was beautiful to see.”