Pilton Community Health Project is to launch a new report, Hungry for Change, tomorrow at the Old Kirk and Muirhouse Church on Pennywell Gardens. The report explores how community groups in north Edinburgh have responded to food insecurity in the area. Continue reading Hungry for Change: PCHP to launch new report
Sixteen projects across Scotland will share £350,000 to help families access fresh and healthy food, Communities Secretary Angela Constance has announced. It’s the second allocation of money from the £1 million Fair Food Fund which is already funding 20 projects. Continue reading Tackling the scourge of food poverty
Pilton Community Health Project, Granton Community Gardeners, Dr Bell’s Family Centre and Pilmeny Development Project are among twenty-one projects to benefit from a share of a £900,000 fund to tackle food poverty. Continue reading North Edinburgh projects to benefit from Fair Food Fund
Funding to help tackle food poverty in communities across Scotland will be doubled in 2016/17, Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil has announced. Continue reading £1 million to tackle food poverty
Do you remember Pilton Community Health Project’s ‘Good Food For All’ event held last December?
Since that conference a group of local people and organisations have been meeting to develop ideas and to take the report findings on to the next stage – and you can be part of that!
The next food poverty meeting takes place this afternoon (Tuesday 2 June) from 1 – 2.30 at Pilton Community Health Project and is an opportunity to discuss what we can do to have our voices heard about food poverty. All welcome
Contact Anita for more information on 0131 551 1671
Taking the next steps forward to tackle food poverty
Pilton Community Health Project recently produced a report on December’s ‘Good Food for All’ conference which focused on food poverty in North Edinburgh.
http://pchp.org.uk/sites/default/files/resource/files/Good%20food%20for%20all%20final%20report.pdf
The report identifies a number of issues that we, as people living and working in the community, cannot solve ourselves. We need action on policy issues
Particularly:
– Living wages
– Job creation and security
– Social security and the punitive sanctions regime
– Better recognition of the contribution that this local community makes towards improving its own food culture and access to affordable, fresh, healthy food and further support for this
– The role of business in the provision of food.
You are invited to a meeting on Tuesday 28 April from 10 – 12 at Pilton Community Health Project to discuss how we might go about having our voices heard on these issues.
Please let me know if you are able to attend.
Anita Aggarwal (Community Development Manager)
Pilton Community Health Project
73 Boswall Parkway, Edinburgh, EH5 2PW
Telephone 0131 551 1671
Do we have the ingredients for a well-fed North Edinburgh?
That was the question posed at a conference organised by Pilton Community Health Project at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre last week – and more than forty delegates replied: yes we have!
The event examined food poverty in Scotland – what it is and it’s impact on poorer communities – and what is being done to tackle the problem. The conference was also an opportunity to celebrate successes and to showcase good work, share ideas and discuss and develop a plan to bring to bring more resources to North Edinburgh to tackle food poverty in the area.
A broad spectrum of speakers helped fashion the discussion over the course of the day. Bill Gray of Community Food & Health (Scotland) set the food poverty context, Broomhouse Health Strategy Group’s Lucy Aitchison talked specifically about their health project and explained why it works well and Mary Anne Macleod of the Poverty Alliance gave a presentation on national best practice.
There was also an opportunity to ‘tour’ information stalls to find out what’s happening locally – the Granton Gardeners, Fresh Start and Edinburgh North West Foodbank were all on hand to offer advice and information, while Granton Improvement Society also had an information stall.
The event was all about information, ideas and discussions and all of these ingredients were present in abundance – look on the conference as an appetising starter … a taste of things to come, maybe?
A conference report is currently being produced and it’s hoped the Good Food for ALL conference will result in an agreed community manifesto to tackle food poverty in North Edinburgh.
Funding aimed at tackling food poverty has been allocated to 26 Scottish projects
Deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced £518,000 of grants during a visit to Greater Maryhill Food Bank, which last week alone provided food to 131 individuals, feeding 52 different families.
Lead organisations Citizens Advice Edinburgh and Edinburgh City Mission will receive the bulk of Edinburgh’s allocation, with The Rock Trust and Bethany Christian Trust also receiving funding.
In April, the Scottish government announced £1m to support the work of food providers through the Emergency Food Fund, half of which has been allocated to the charity FareShare, which redistributes surplus food from retailers to charities supporting communities. The Emergency Food Fund (EFF) opened for applications in June, and today’s s announcement sees the remaining £518,000 distributed among 17 local authority areas.
EFF was established to support projects which respond to immediate demands for emergency food aid and help to address the underlying causes of food poverty, and grants have been allocated to projects that concentrate on preventing food crisis recurring, those that build connections between food aid providers, advice and support agencies and organisations working to promote healthy eating and reduce food waste.
The Trussell Trust charity said the number of people who used their food banks in Scotland between April last year and March this year rose to 71,428 – FIVE TIMES the number which used them during the previous financial year.
Ms Sturgeon said: “The amount of people experiencing food poverty in Scotland is simply not acceptable. Worryingly the Trussell Trust has seen a 400 per cent increase in people using food banks between April 2013 and March 2014 which includes more than 22,000 children using these services.
“Welfare reform, benefit delays, benefit sanctions and falling incomes are all having a detrimental impact on the people of Scotland.
“Today I visited Greater Maryhill Food Bank, which is one of 35 food aid providers operating in Glasgow. Working in partnership with other local agencies, our Emergency Food Fund will help food aid organisations, such as this one, combat food poverty.
“Most people recognise that the increase in food bank use is directly linked to welfare reform and benefit cuts, and this fund is another example of what we are doing to mitigate the harmful effects of Westminster’s welfare cuts. However, the impact is still being felt by the most vulnerable in our society.
“One million people in Scotland are now living in relative poverty after housing costs, including more than 200,000 children.
“What is even more worrying is that 70 per cent of the welfare cuts are still to come – Scotland will see its welfare budget reduced by over £6 billion by 2015/16. And some estimates suggest that up to 100,000 more children could be living in poverty by 2020 if we continue with Westminster policies.
“It is vital that we gain the full powers of independence in order to build a better Scotland – one that protects people from poverty and helps them fulfill their potential in work and life.”
Politicians praise voluntary sector efforts to tackle food poverty in struggling communities
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth John Swinney has praised the essential work of the voluntary sector at Christmas during a tour of Transform Community Development’s new-look Dundee premises.
Through its work with national charity FareShare the Dundee project aims to reduce food poverty and offers training and volunteering opportunities to service users and local people in the community.
During the visit Mr Swinney saw first-hand the efforts of the third sector organisation which provides balanced meals and shelter to homeless and vulnerable people in the city, before going on to tour the Jessie Devlin Hostel, one of Transform’s residential and sheltered housing accommodation for vulnerable people.
He said: “Christmas should be a time for fun and festivities but it can be tough for people across the country who are living in poverty.
“The Scottish Government is committed to tackling and preventing homelessness. Official statistics published last month revealed fewer people are becoming homeless in Scotland, with a 14 per cent decrease of households living in temporary accommodation at the end of June compared with 2013.
“Transform’s work on Zero Waste Scotland’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign complements what they are doing with FareShare as it’s all about making the most of the food we have.
“Social enterprises, voluntary organisations and community organisations play an important part in Scottish society. They deliver superb services and help to connect with the most vulnerable people in our communities, which is especially important during the festive period which can be a particularly difficult time of year.
“It was an honour to meet the people who run and use Transform’s FareShare scheme and sheltered accommodation. Such excellent projects just show how charities can work in partnership with retailers like Asda and cut down on food waste and feed those in need at the same time.”
The charity collects donations of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy products from suppliers and retailers like Brakes, Nestle and Asda then hands them out to disadvantaged groups in the area.
The food, which would otherwise end up in landfill because of packaging errors, over production or short shelf lives, is redistributed to those in need in Dundee, Perth, Kinross and Angus.
Transform Community Development Trust’s CEO Simon Laidlaw said: “We have been involved with FareShare since it began and are extremely proud of what it achieves.
“In particular in times of austerity and public sector cuts it is good to be able to assist other voluntary organisations, taking some pressure off and enabling them to enhance the services they provide for vulnerable people.
“With food poverty on the increase it makes sense that we should be working with the industry to ensure that no good food goes to waste and that those in need get the benefit.”
Asda’s Scottish Corporate Affairs Manager Polly Jones, said: “With over 60 Asda stores in Scotland, even a couple of extra cases of food here and there can quickly add up to hundreds of tonnes of surplus stock. By working with FareShare we can ensure this good quality food doesn’t go to waste.
“Asda’s contribution provides 3.6 million meals for the good causes FareShare supports, helping to alleviate food poverty and saving the charities money to invest in essential services. The partnership is a simple and practical way for Asda to turn an environmental problem into a real benefit for the communities we serve.”
Edinburgh North and Leith MP has also highlighted the food poverty plight faced by many Scots families over Christmas.
Following a debate in Westminster called by the Labour Opposition on food banks, Mark Lazarowicz MP has highlighted that many ordinary Scots face crisis this Christmas due to the shocking increase in food poverty.
He pointed to the dramatic growth not just in food banks but all forms of help such as food vans and soup kitchens in Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland over the last two years as a response to real need amongst ordinary families struggling to put food on the table.
Speaking after the packed debate, Mark said: “In just two years the number of food banks in Scotland operated by the Trussell Trust, the main food bank charity, has dramatically increased from just one to forty-three today, with two more being planned in Edinburgh alone.
“But that’s just the tip of the iceberg with many other people either going without or getting into debt to get through the week.”
“The Government’s stock response is to point to all it is doing to support ordinary families but if so why has the scale of need grown so rapidly? According to Citizens Advice Scotland, half of those who use food banks are actually in work but their wages can’t keep pace with the cost of living – three-quarters of the rest turn to them because of delays in their benefits or changes to the benefit system introduced by the Government.
“I pay tribute to the civic responsibility and compassion of the volunteers and staff who run food banks and food vans but it’s a tragedy they are needed and needed they definitely are – not least because of Government policy.”
The North & Leith MP called for a thorough examination by the Government of why so many people need help followed by a major policy rethink if Citizens Advice Scotland and the Trussell Trust are proved right that Government policies are a key contributing factor.
At this time last year, the Prime Minister claimed that the growth in food banks was an expression of the big society. More recently, his Education Secretary has suggested that more people are turning to food banks because they are unable to manage their finances properly.
That is not borne out by either the findings of the Trussell Trust or a study produced by Citizens Advice Scotland tracking those they referred to food banks. Both pointed to the difficulty of in-work households in meeting basic bills because of low wages and the rising cost of living coupled with benefit delays and changes to the benefit system introduced by the Government as the main explanations.
Wednesday follow up meeting to tackle local food poverty
Pilton Central Association recently held a very successful community meeting to discuss our response to the horrific figures on food poverty released by the Scottish Government, church groups, the Trussel Trust and the Red Cross.
The initiative of creating what has become known as the Big Kitchen restaurant/ cafe and the distribution system of food on sufficient scale to local people was endorsed. Over 40 representatives of local people, community gardeners, food banks, community centre representatives, Councillors and others agreed to pursue and make this a reality.
An open follow up meeting will take place
tomorrow at 1pm West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre
to discuss the location of such a kitchen, it’s funding and the building of a community garden that would supply the Big Kitchen with fresh produce. All welcome.
Willie Black
