Youth charity offers slice of experience for young people with pizzeria opening

Representatives of SBC, SOSE and Tweeddale Youth Action's Food Punks pizzeria.

An ambitious Scottish Borders-based youth charity is offering young people the chance to gain a slice of catering experience through the opening of its new pizzeria and training academy.

Tweeddale Youth Action have converted an empty High Street building in Peebles into its new Food Punks facility, and celebrated its official opening, and the organisation’s 25th anniversary, on Tuesday 22 October.

The project will give young people aged 16 to 25 in the Tweeddale area the opportunity to take on volunteering and training opportunities, as well as providing a new food offering for residents and visitors to Peebles.

Tweeddale Youth Action have operated two social enterprises – Bike Punks and Food Punks – for a number of years as a way of generating additional income, with all profits being reinvested into the charity.

Food Punks is a chef-led catering organisation that teaches cooking and catering skills. What started as cookery sessions for young people has now resulted in a successful outside catering operation.

The new pizzeria will also provide Tweeddale Youth Action with another income generation opportunity, reducing its dependency on funding to support its important youth work.

The project has been supported by South of Scotland Enterprise, who provided advice, support, business planning and £43,000 for capital costs to fit out and open the pizzeria.

Others to support Tweeddale Youth Action with its Food Punks project include Scottish Borders Council – with a Common Good building housing the new facility - the National Lottery, Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund and LEADER programme.

Partners also supported Tweeddale Youth Action to take on ownership and develop a premises in Innerleithen in 2022.

Dave Hodson, Locality Manager with Tweeddale Youth Action, said: “Our new Food Punks pizzeria and training academy will help the young people to develop their communication, work ethic and teamworking skills, while generating income to go back into the charity.

“Involvement in Bike Punks and Food Punks gives young people the essential employability and life skills to take forward into adulthood.

“Many thanks to all those who have supported the project to date.”

Russel Griggs OBE, Chair of SOSE, added:

“SOSE and partners are delighted to have supported the Food Punks pizzeria project.

“It will help Tweedale Youth Action move towards becoming more self-sufficient by generating income, and giving young people essential employability and life skills.”

Lisa Denham, Community Development Advisor at SOSE, said:

“It has been a real pleasure to work with Tweeddale Youth Action over the last few years, with their latest facility another example of this ambitious organisation’s efforts to ensure there is a future legacy for youth enterprise in the Tweeddale area.”

Councillor Julie Pirone, Scottish Borders Council’s Executive Member for Education, Youth Development, and Lifelong Learning said:

“Scottish Borders Council is absolutely delighted to support the new Food Punks pizzeria and training academy on Peebles High Street.

“This new facility will bring a fantastic opportunity to many young people in the local area, allowing them to develop skills which will help them on their paths to work and employment.

“It also shows the value of innovative youth work in the Tweeddale area while helping to generate income, allowing Tweeddale Youth Action to continue to grow.”