Tag: Nourish Scotland

Three Edinburgh-based community food groups receive research funding

  • First year of Healthy Planet, Healthy People research grants by Williamson Trust and Royal Society of Edinburgh
  • Nearly £60,000 worth of funding will be given to 12 research projects in communities across Scotland
  • Community research projects to promote the health of individuals will take place in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Inverness, Campbeltown, Fife, Lewis, Orkney and Perth.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Williamson Trust have given their support to three community research projects in Edinburgh, aimed at promoting healthy living.

The RSE and Williamson Trust have given their support to 12 new community-led research projects, which will promote the health of individuals by fostering healthy communities, healthy environments, and healthy food.

This is the first year that the Healthy Planet, Healthy People awards have been given out. Originally only ten awards were planned, however the strength of the applications was such that a further two projects will now be supported.

The Community Renewal Trust in North Edinburgh has received £4,600 of funding. The Trust is part of the R2 network of organisations that collaborate to achieve better outcomes in local communities. 

Through the project, the group will explore the feasibility of establishing a food buying group for local organisations that would achieve economies of scale, improve the quality and quantity of food available in the area, reduce food waste and reduce the time, energy and food miles that local organisations are spending in procuring food in north Edinburgh.

R2 co-ordinator Anita Aggarwal said: “Local people and organisations have been at the forefront of finding dignified solutions to food insecurity in the area.

“This award will help us work towards our vision of sustainably produced food being affordable and available in the area. As a network of organisations, we know we can achieve more if we work together, but finding time to collaborate can be hard, so this helping hand will go a long way and have a wide impact in the long term.”

Art Walk Projects based in Portobello is set receive £5,000 to develop a series of public conversations with artists, scientists, farmers, landscape architects and climate scientists to establish a strategy for coastal communities to achieve net zero.

Founder and artistic director Rosy Naylor said: “We are so very delighted to receive the support from RSE and Williamson Trust enabling us to develop our new project ‘Thrift: Climate Conversations’ involving local coastal communities in conversations around issues of food production, farming and coastal ecologies of northeast Edinburgh.

“It will provide for a rich multi-disciplinary approach engaging local publics around possible future food environments.”

Nourish Scotland’s “Our Right to Food” project is the third in Edinburgh to benefit from funding, receiving £5,000. The project aims to develop ways to measure the progress towards the right to good quality affordable food in Scotland.

Senior project officer Irina Martin said: “We are delighted to have been successful to get the ‘Healthy Planet, Healthy People’: Community-led Award. The Our Right to Food project aims to learn what people in Scotland would choose as a healthy and enjoyable way to eat so that rights holders and decision makers can better identify how to make this accessible for all.

“It does this by working with people from the community to create and then price “shopping baskets” for typical households across Scotland – the idea being that these baskets can be used to measure whether a “good enough” diet is affordable.

“This funding will support the next phase of the project which will focus on a typical Pakistani household in Scotland. This is to explore whether a “good enough” diet is more or less affordable for different groups within Scotland, and in doing so, show the functional value it could have when it comes to measuring progress toward achieving the right to food in Scotland.”

Aside from the three food security projects in Edinburgh, funding has also been awarded to a number of other projects in the west of Scotland, the Highlands and Islands, Fife and Perth.

Professor David E Salt FRSE, chair of the Williamson Trust said: “I speak for all the trustees when I say we were incredibly excited to see the very strong response we got from communities across Scotland.

“From food waste, the right to food and cooperative local growing, to rebuilding biodiversity and land rights, community street play, urban forests, and climate conversations as street theatre.

“The Trust hopes this seed funding will deliver real change and lead to larger impacts going into the future. We are very excited to be working with these communities across Scotland to help them make a new and better future.”

RSE Vice President, Research, Professor Anne Anderson OBE FRSE said: “This is the first time that the RSE has supported this type of research, as the Society broadens its range of research awards, and I feel that it is vital that we do so.

“The health of the individual and the health of the environment are inextricably linked, and it is my hope that these awards will now provide a boost to these exciting research groups which will lead to improvements in both.

“I very much look forward to following their progress and achievements over the next 12 months.”

Clowndoctors are back in Fife!

The Clowndoctors are back in Fife supporting families of local charity Nourish Support Centre thanks to funding from ExxonMobil

Hearts & Minds and Nourish Support Centre are pleased to announce they are working together again to support Fife families thanks to help towards funding from ExxonMobil at Mossmorran. 

In June ExxonMobil workers selected Hearts & Minds as one of their charities to support in 2021 due to their ambition to support families facing adversity by bringing them joy, laughter and creative engagement through the Clowndoctors Programme.

In Summer 2020 during the first lockdown the Clowndoctors delivered virtual visits to Nourish families direct to their homes. Hearts and Minds wanted to develop their work further with Fife charity Nourish and help support their families with monthly Clowndoctor sessions. The generous funding from ExxonMobil workers of £5000 will help part fund these much-needed visits over the next twelve months.

Nourish and Hearts & Minds are a perfect partnership sharing the same ideals and values with empathy and kindness at the heart of everything they do.

Both organisations believe that meaningful human connection is vital for wellbeing, and that this is especially important when we are at our most vulnerable. Through the art of therapeutic clowning Hearts & Minds Clowndoctors connect to people’s humanity and transform experiences of adversity and create a safe space for families so they can relax and unwind and enjoy time together.

“Clowndoctors were amazing, Kacy giggled so much all the way through. It’s such a great experience and they do a fab job. We can’t thank Hearts & Minds, the clowndoctors and Nourish enough for the experience for Kacy, she just loves them.” – Parent

Nourish Support Centre was founded in 2011 by five parents who felt there was a lack of support for families who had children with additional support needs in the Kirkcaldy area. A lot of the children and families that access Nourish have met the Clowndoctors before at hospital or at respite care at hospices and are excited to see them again but this time with their siblings and families. 

Louise Russell from ExxonMobil commented: “We were delighted that safe working practices during our recent plant improvement project enabled us to raise this money for Hearts & Minds, which was nominated by one of our workers.

“These visits will help bring happiness to many local youngsters and their families at a time when it is much needed.”

Rebecca Simpson, CEO, Hearts & Minds said: “We are delighted to be able to support Nourish and their families with a brand-new programme of monthly visits kindly funded by Exxon Mobil.

“These visits will deliver much needed laughter, creativity and imagination to children who are vulnerable especially in current times.”

Lynne Scott of Nourish said: “The smiles and laughter that the Clowndoctors bring to the children who use our services is just amazing, and its not just the young people who benefit, the whole family gain some quality time together having some fun time away from the day to day challenges they face.“

Edinburgh commits to developing as a sustainable food city

Declaration recognises Capital’s ambition of net zero emissions by 2030

City commits to developing Edinburgh as a sustainable food city

Edinburgh has committed to putting food at the centre of its response to the climate emergency, after becoming a signatory to the International Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration.

Launched by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems and Nourish Scotland, the Declaration highlights the vital role food plays in meeting cities’ net zero targets, as well as helping to reduce poverty, inequality and poor health. 

And by becoming a signatory to the Declaration, the City of Edinburgh Council renews its commitment to sustainable food policies and joined up action, raising awareness of how people’s livelihoods, health and local biodiversity are all interconnected with production, manufacture, supply, consumption and disposal of food. 

The Declaration aligns with Edinburgh’s existing net zero commitments, which include:

  • Developing and implementing integrated food policies and strategies as key tools in the fight against climate change, captured in the Edinburgh’s first food growing strategy, ‘Growing Locally’ published in April 2021
  • Working to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from urban and regional food systems in accordance with the Paris Agreement, Edinburgh’s net zero by 2030 target, and work with regional partners
  • Calling on national governments to establish supportive and enabling policy frameworks to enable city partners to take action on climate change at the pace and scale needed to tackle the climate emergency 

The move follows on from the Council committing £130,000 to invest in expanding the provision of local food growing opportunities in the city earlier this year, along with a further £0.500 million to enhance Edinburgh’s parks, playparks, food growing and urban forests, with £4m of related capital investment.

Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, Councillor Adam McVey said: Food systems currently account for a third of total global greenhouse gas emissions and, with COP26 being hosted in Scotland later this year, we have a unique opportunity as Scotland’s capital city to bring food systems reform to the forefront of the climate debate.

“Edinburgh’s pioneering local integrated food policies and strategies are helping to reduce the city’s impact on the environment and encouraging biodiversity. 

“Through Growing Locally, our first ever food growing strategy, and our partnership with Edible Edinburgh, we’re already taking strides in increasing local food production and public awareness of the importance of sustainable food to our environment. 

“This reflects our wider commitment to securing a more sustainable future for our citizens through tackling the climate emergency and working with partners towards ensuring the city of Edinburgh becomes net zero by 2030. 

“We hope that signing the Declaration will help to highlight the importance of sustainable food to our environment, economy and communities across the city.”

Deputy leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, Councillor Cammy Day added: “The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the importance of community growing initiatives in reducing social isolation, and creating stronger, more connected communities as well as providing people with access to fresh, locally produced, low carbon food.

“Growing and eating local food helps to reduce emissions from food miles, helps to encourage plants and wildlife to flourish, and can support a thriving local circular economy as part of the city’s efforts to tackle poverty. 

“Becoming a signatory to the Declaration on Food and Climate recognises that food systems have an important role to play in regenerating local ecosystems and ensuring everyone has access to healthy and sustainable food.”

Chair of Edible Edinburgh, Councillor George Gordon said: “Edinburgh is home to a large and vibrant food economy which employs more than 32,000 people across almost 200 city businesses. 

“Our thriving local food growing projects bring people and communities together, improve biodiversity and mitigate against the effects of climate change. 

“Through our partnership with Edible Edinburgh, Edinburgh has already achieved the Bronze award for being a sustainable food city and is now working towards its Silver accreditation. As part of this we’re increasing local food growing activity and the supply of locally produced food and raising public awareness of the importance of sustainable food to our environment, economy and communities.”

Edinburgh is also a Fairtrade City and, as a lead member of the Edible Edinburgh partnership, the City of Edinburgh Council is working towards developing Edinburgh as a sustainable food city.

Growing Locally, the city’s first food growing strategy, is encouraging organisations, communities and citizens to work together to increase opportunities for growing, support local food suppliers and ensure the health, wellbeing and biodiversity benefits of local food systems are shared across the city.  

In the lead up to COP26, IPES-Food and Nourish Scotland along with Declaration partners will provide a platform for signatories to share best practice and insights on developing and monitoring sustainable integrated food policies.

This will be followed by a series events during COP26 on the role of local and regional governments in building sustainable food systems.