Tag: healthy eating

Edible Edinburgh food plan served up in Muirhouse

commfoodLocal growers, food groups, community gardeners and volunteers fashioned up a feast to celebrate the unveiling of the Edible Edinburgh Sustainable Food City Plan at Muirhouse Community Shop on Pennywell Road yesterday.

Developed in consultation with the public, the food plan aims to motivate Edinburgh to develop a healthy and sustainable approach to food, one which will bring social, economic and environmental benefits to the whole community – latest figures show that over two thirds of people across the Lothians eat less than the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day.

The six-year plan is based on feedback from the public and outlines six distinct themes which need to be addressed in order to achieve its vision of Edinburgh as a sustainable food city. These are: Health and wellbeing, Land use, Environment, Buying food, Economy and Cultural change.

A series of actions have been set out within each theme in order to work towards key outcomes, including more fresh and healthy food eaten, fewer people living in food poverty, the protection of our natural environment and a thriving local food economy.

Efforts will be coordinated by Edible Edinburgh, a cross-sector steering group from the public, private and third sectors, including City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian.

City of Edinburgh Council’s Environment Convener, Councillor Lesley Hinds, who chairs the Edible Edinburgh steering group, welcomed the launch of the plan.

She said: “We are proud to be launching this plan in collaboration with our partners, who have worked with the public to ensure our vision and targets are realistic and relevant for achieving a sustainable food city for all.

“Food is central for everyone in Edinburgh, and there are a great many groups who work tirelessly towards a greener, fairer and healthier city. By building on their efforts we are determined to expand this enthusiasm to residents across the capital.”

commfood2Dr Margaret Douglas, consultant in public health medicine with NHS Lothian, added: “Edible Edinburgh’s vision is of ‘a city where good food is available for all.’ Healthy affordable food is essential for good health but for too many this is not yet a reality. Projects like Pilton Community Gardeners are showing the way by involving local people in growing healthy food and improving the local environment.

“We need change at many levels if the causes of diet-related ill health are to be tackled. Partnerships like Edible Edinburgh can help coordinate public, private, voluntary and community sector action to push for a fairer food city.”

Iain Stewart, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Community Food, said: “Community food groups play a vital role in addressing inequalities by getting local people involved in making good food available locally. At Edinburgh Community Food we support this effort by providing food and health promotion sessions and supplying food projects throughout the city with a range of healthy affordable food products.”

Community gardeners

Big Kitchen food idea grows in Pilton

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

food2

Last chance to book World Cafe

curry

world cafe final

Friday’s World Cafe (18 October)  is shaping up to a great one, with Samba Sene providing some music

and a celebration of Black History Month.

The menu will include beans in coconut sauce, two types of curry and some apple crumble thanks to Abundance, who harvest fruit trees in people’s gardens for apples!

Places are limited so please call 0131 551 1671 to book your place and avoid disappointment! It costs £5 for adults and £2.50 for children.

The World Cafe’s at 5.30pm onwards at North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, Muirhouse (next to the library).

It would be great if you could make it!

Hannah, Alice and the World Café team

CAFF

Obesity: a growing crisis

One of the very few things that has shown steady and continuous growth since the war has been the Scottish waistline. Countless healthy eating initiatives have been introduced over the years – I’ve attended more initiative launches than I’ve had pie and beans lunches – yet Scotland’s problem with poor diet, obesity and the resultant chronic health issues remain as intractable as ever.

Two thirds of Scotland’s adults are classed as either obese or overweight, and a BBC Scotland special investigation to be screened tonight confirms that Scotland’s love affair with sugary and fatty foods grows unabated. That love affair costs Scotland’s NHS £200 million a year – and unless something is done to tackle this urgently the country faces a health crisis.

Statistics produced for ‘Scotland the Fat’ indicate that heath boards across the country have seen significant increase in obesity-related issues over the last ten years, with a marked increase in weight-loss surgical operations.

Research for the programme found that more and more Scots eat processed ready meals or takeaways at least three times a week, and that barely a quarter of Scots now cook for themselves every night. As ever the most worrying statistics were found in the most disadvantaged communities, where almost one in five (17%) said they did not cook a single evening meal from scratch.

In North Edinburgh, Pilton Community Health Project (PCHP) established the Food For Thought Forum last year to address these very issues:

The Food for Thought Forum exists to bring together community food and growing initiatives, organisations, projects and individuals within the area of Greater Pilton, Edinburgh; and to support, promote, link and increase local community food activity.

Our Vision

The group believes everyone in North Edinburgh should have access to a tasty, enjoyable, nutritious diet.  We want food to be a central part of our thriving community, bringing people together to grow, bake, cook and eat.

We want to see our community skilled and empowered to grow and cook good quality food for their families, friends and neighbours, and to see more local employment opportunities created in the production, distribution and preparation of the food we eat.

Our members are working towards aspects of this shared vision, and we believe that by working together we are stronger and better able to contribute to the flourishing of North Edinburgh.

Our key aims

  • To share and pool our knowledge and resources around community food & health
  • To use our collective resources to further develop a thriving local food culture
  • To move towards an adaptable and resilient community by providing opportunities for local skills development
  • To work together towards improving diet, food access, nutrition and health in Greater Pilton

Who can join?

Anyone involved or interested in community food or growing activity in Greater Pilton.

What does it involve?

  • Attending regular local meetings
  • Sharing ideas, knowledge and resources
  • Contributing to the planning, promotion and coordination of events
  • Signposting queries to appropriate forum members
  • Regularly contributing to ongoing forum discussion

For further information about heathy eating and the Food for Thought Forum, contact Anita Aggarwal at Pilton Community Health Project on 551 1671

‘Scotland the Fat’ will be screened on BBC Scotland tonight at 8pm, and can be seen on BBC iPlayer for a further seven days.

BBC Scotland

Greens urge government to ensure school leavers can cook

Green MSP Alison Johnstone has urged the government to respond to a survey which shows a strong appetite among Scots for the Government to set a target to ensure all school leavers are able to cook a basic meal from scratch.

By contrast the major supermarkets, who already control three-quarters of our grocery spending, are encouraging the growth of the ready meals sector through advertising campaigns, broadcasts and billboards. The UK ready meal market, which has been at the centre of the horsemeat scandal, continues to grow at five per cent a year and is now worth £1 billion a year.

The Panelbase survey for the Scottish Greens shows 79 per cent of 1,000 Scots agreed with the need for a target for school leavers, while only 7 per cent disagreed.

Other research suggests the majority of 18-25 year olds leave home without the ability to cook a simple recipe such as Spaghetti Bolognese, with many relying on ready meals and takeaways.

Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and spokesperson on food and education for the Scottish Greens (pictured below), said: “We have a growing problem with obesity and ready meals are nutritionally haphazard. It’s time the Scottish Government challenged the big manufacturers and retailers. The inconvenient truth about many convenience foods is they make big firms big profits while public health pays dearly.

“Curriculum for Excellence has great potential and I would urge the government to recognise the appetite there is for ensuring school leavers are able to cook. As more people question what’s in the food they’re buying due to the horsemeat scandal it’s important we establish a balanced food culture from the start.”

AlisonJohnstoneMSP

The survey, carried out online by Panelbase in March, asked:

How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The Scottish Government should set a target to ensure all school leavers are able to cook a basic meal from scratch.

The results were:

Agree Strongly 48%
Agree Slightly 31%
Neither Agree/Disagree 15%
Disagree Slightly 4%
Disagree Strongly 3%

Horsemeat: Amey apology ‘not enough’

AMEY, the private contractor responsible for providing school meals to a number of primary schools where mince containing horsemeat may have been served to children, has apologised to the City of Edinburgh Council and parents for ‘an unfortunate and unacceptable lack of communication’. The company has also made a donation to a children’s charity, but parents say the apology just doesn’t go far enough and questions must be answered.

The city council wrote to parents after results of its own tests on a batch of frozen mince taken in late February from the shared kitchen of Pirniehall and St David’s Primary Schools were confirmed, assuring them that there was no risk to their children’s health. Local primaries Craigroyston and Forthview were also among the schools affexted.

Amey Built Environment (Amey) has since responded to a request by the City of Edinburgh Council to explain why they failed to notify the Council of the presence of horsemeat in beef mince which they had used in school meals in six school kitchens on 8 March, and when they themselves were first alerted to the fact by their supplier, 3663.

The company has also provided a list of meals containing beef mince which were on the menu at each school in the five-week period between w/c 3 February 2013 and w/c 4 March 2013 and which may have contained mince from the affected batch which was later recalled by 3663.

During this period, one week was a holiday.  This information, together with a statement of explanation and apology from Amey, has been included in a letter which was sent to parents in the six affected schools on 4 April.

Councillor Paul Godzik, Education Convener, said: “As soon as we became aware through our own tests that mince containing a small percentage of horsemeat had been supplied to a number of our schools, we immediately took action by contacting parents to let them know. We also checked each of the school kitchens to make sure there was no mince from this batch remaining.

“It was only after we raised the issue with Amey that they advised us that this same batch had in fact been recalled by 3663 on 8 March. “It is unacceptable that the Council was not given this information immediately – had we known on 8 March, we could and would have alerted parents to this at that time. We are pleased that Amey have now apologised for this lack of communication and are grateful to them for their cooperation in this matter.

“Parents are quite right to expect the highest possible standards from the food their children are served at school and the Council prides itself on providing meals which are nutritious, satisfying and value-for-money. It is absolutely crucial therefore that any problems with the produce supplied to our school kitchens are flagged up to us immediately so that we can take appropriate action.”

Gillian Duggan, Managing Director of Amey Built Environment, said: “Recently we have commenced an investigation into how contaminated meat made its way into our supply chain at a date between February 2013 and 8 March 2013. Tests have revealed that a small amount of contaminated meat containing up to 5% horse DNA was served to six schools in Edinburgh before a product recall notice was issued by the meat supplier on 8 March 2013.

“Although checks confirmed no current stock of the contaminated meat in any of the premises, there has been an unfortunate and unacceptable lack of communication from Amey to the City of Edinburgh Council regarding this issue. This resulted in a delay in the Council being able to notify parents. We at Amey are very sorry this issue has occurred, and for any distress caused to parents, who quite rightly expect high standards.”

Ms Duggan added that Amey would be making a donation to the Scottish NSPCC on behalf of the schools affected and added that the company would be undertaking a review of its supply chain and an enhancement of their communication and escalation procedures.

However the apology and charity donation are not enough according to some parents. One West Pilton mother, with two children at a local primary school – who preferred not to be named – said: “Everyone’s been talking about it and I think most parents are disgusted with what has happened. You expect your bairns to get good quality dinners at school so this is really shocking – it’s like a breach of trust. Everybody wants to know how long this has been going on – I think parents have got a right to know, we deserve answers.  It’s very easy to say ‘sorry’ and making a donation to charity is easy for a big organisation like AMEY – they must make a fortune out of the PPP school contracts so that charity donation is sweeties for them.”

mince

Countdown to Yummy Food Festival

FOOD_FESTIVAL_A5FLYER

Just six days now until the big event …

Please find attached the flyer for this year’s food festival. Organised by a group of local women from West Pilton and Muirhouse this food festival aims to inspire and encourage healthy eating. The afternoon will be full of food demonstration and workshops by local people and organisation as well as food-related arts workshops, face painting, singing from North Edinburgh Sings Together, balloons, baking competition, and our local celebrity chef Neil Forbes (pictred below) , Mrs Mash the foodie story teller, The Edible Garden, Kitchen Canny, the Seed Truck, goody bags, tastes of the food, recipe cards and a whole lot more!

So if you can, share this with your local networks, groups and organisations. Hope to see you on the day!

Best Wishes From

The Yummy Food Festival Steering Group 2013

yummychef[1]

Top chef signs up for Yummy Food Festival

Neil Forbes, Scottish Chef of the Year 2011, met up with the women of PCHP’s Use Your Loaf group last week. The women are making bread and organising this years Yummy Food Festival on Friday 15 March. Neil will be there on the big day too, joining local people to do a cooking demonstration and workshops.

YummyChef

Lisa Arnott
PCHP Healthy Lifestyles Coordinator

Yummy Food group hungry for international success!

chefHello!

Last year a group of local women started the first Food Festival in North Edinburgh called the Yummy Food Festival celebrating healthy eating in Muirhouse. Even although it rained, it was an amazing day – full of food storytelling , food demonstrations, giveaways, cooking demonstrations, theatre, information stalls and face painting! Over 500 people come to North Edinburgh Arts to celebrate the talented cooks and chefs within the North Edinburgh Community.

On Friday 15 March 2013 the festival will be happening again! Next year’s food festival will continue with the theme of cooking on a budget £5 for a family of five, but this year’s festival aims have a very international feel and celebrate the culinary talents that are in our community.

Would you like to get involved … YES! we hear you cry!!cooksThere are many ways you can get involved:

  • · Can you volunteer on the day? Can you be a steward?
  • · Can you give a cooking demonstration with an international feel?
  • · Are you a gardener and can show people how to plant seed?
  • · Are you an organisation with food, health related information you would like to share in a fun way
  • · Can you face paint?
  • · Are you a good story-teller?
  • · Do you want to share information about health, cooking books, budgets, food, money, diet, being economical and other food related issues and share it with people in a fun way?
  • Can you help with the washing up?
  • · Can you help make foodie decorations or signage?
  • · Are you a group who bake or make and would like to sell them at the festival for your group or charity?

Last year’s event was amazing and we are busy planning next year’s Festival. To make it a real celebration of our community do lets us know if you want to get involved.

Thanks for your support!

The Yummy Food Festival 2013 group

foodeventIf you’d like to be involved or require further info contact Lisa Arnott at Pilton Community Health Project on 551 1671, email lisaarnott@pchp.org.uk