Our Friends at Glasgow Community Food Network have been working hard to reduce food poverty and by ensuring fairness and encouraging sustainability. Here is their latest newsletter:
Welcome to the Glasgow Community Food Network Newsletter!
Hello and welcome to our October GCFN newsletter! This newsletter is bursting with information on our current work including Chef’s Challenge 2020, Glasgow City Food Plan consultation and our Community Response work around COVID19. There’s also a range of resources and information from other organisations for you to sink your teeth into, including events, consultations, funding opportunities, and updates.
Enjoy,
Emrys (they/them)
Communications Officer
GCFN News
An Update On Our COVID19 Response Project
Our Community Response Officers are working hard to make connections across the city, keeping the conversation about food going and continuing to support communities. Our East Community Response Officer Clem Sandison will be speaking at an event at Glasgow Women’s Library alongside Dr Dania Thomas from Ubuntu Women’s Shelter. Join them on the 11th November 6pm-7:30pm for ‘Our Changing Climate: Local Women Respond’. For tickets, go here.
Are there exciting projects in your community focusing on Covid19 transition to a just recovery? Are there people doing positive work who are looking to get a project off the ground? Have you seen examples of excellent partnership and collaborative working over the last few months? If so, we’d like to hear from you! Get in touch at media_gcfn@outlook.com.
Chef’s Challenge 2020
Our Chef’s Challenge 2020 was a roaring success, with a total of nine restaurants taking part across Glasgow. Lead by Grant Reekie, each cafe and restaurant was judged by an excellent panel of judges. A big congratulations to our finalists Undercover Dinner Society, Kier Irvine and Eusebi Deli.
We then held our FINAL at Greenheart Growers on World Food Day, the 16th of October 2020. Each finalist had the added challenge of cooking outdoors, however they did themselves justice and the food tasted excellent. A big well done to Undercover Dinner Society who won the competition- you did a brilliant job!
A massive THANK YOU to our competitors, our judges, and of course our incredible growers. You did a great job. For more information and to look back on this year’s competition, go to our Instagram where each competitor and grower were featured.
The National even wrote about us! View the article here.
Brilliant competition folks- roll on next year!
Glasgow City Food Plan Consultation
The Glasgow City Food Plan is coming: now is the opportunity to have your say during the public consultation. A multisector project group has been working for the last year with over 80 partners to develop a draft Plan aiming to make the food system in Glasgow more sustainable, equitable and healthy.
The Food Plan consultation includes an online survey and a range of engagement events. Feedback on the proposals is invited from communities, citizens, businesses and stakeholders across the city. It is important that the final version reflects the needs and priorities of the people of Glasgow and enables everyone to be part of a more just, sustainable, healthy food system. To keep up to date on the progress of the Plan and details of the consultation, please follow #GlasgowCityFoodPlan on Twitter or see our webpage at where up to date information will be posted regularly.
Monthly Member Spotlight
Are you a member of GCFN? Want to feature your work in the local food community in our monthly newsletter? Email Emrys at media_gcfn@outlook.com for more information!
Resources and Information
Empower Women For Change
Empower Women For Change are looking for clothes donations. Can you help? Email info@ewfc.org.uk for more information.
Eating Veg is going down – What can WE do about it?
This event, coming up on multiple dates over the next month, looks at some of the obstacles we have in Scotland to sourcing and eating good food, specifically fresh veg. It’s an opportunity to learn how the current food system works, and to discuss as a group the different barriers we face and how we might overcome them in our communities. Get your tickets here.
Job Opportunity – Educational Gardener
The Garden Project will work with people who have been involved in offending or face other barriers to employment and social inclusion.
We are looking to recruit an Educational Gardener to help us move our project into the next stage of its development. You will have extensive horticultural experience, preferably with experience of or an interest in food growing and/or wildlife gardening. A proven track record of developing and managing projects is also essential as is experience of working with volunteers/community work. To find out more information, go here.
How should Scotland change to tackle the climate emergency in an effective and fair way?
Join in on the consultation on how to tackle climate change. For more information, go here.
Community-led research toolkit
Do you want to learn more about how to enable change in your community through research? Knowledge Is Power have released a helpful toolkit. Go here for more information.
On The Road To Food Justice: A Framework For A Fairer Future
This framework is a practical tool to help us acknowledge the intersecting injustices across food systems; identify how our direct line of work influences and shapes those injustices, empowering us to change, through policies and practices and integrate justice across our existing work. The paper includes examples of the framework in action. For the full report, go here.
Funding
Community Climate Asset Fund – Supporting the Green Recovery in Scotland’s Communities
As Scotland emerges from COVID-19, we have a chance to build a greener, fairer and more equal society and economy.
The climate emergency has not gone away and Scottish Ministers remain absolutely committed to a just transition to net-zero emissions by 2045.
The Community Climate Asset Fund (CCAF) is a Scottish Government fund, administered by Keep Scotland Beautiful.
More information here.
Small Grants – Food For Life
Apply for funding of up to £150 to support your community! Open to not-for-profit groups and settings until April 2021. More information here.
‘Food for Life Get Togethers harnesses the power of good food to connect and bring together people of all ages and from different backgrounds. Together we can get more people eating healthily, strengthen our communities and reduce the experience of loneliness and social isolation.’
