Community Food Growing Webinar

Empowering the Community

In 2019 the Scottish Government published the national Food Growing Strategy, encouraging communities all around the country to grow their own food, supported by their regional authorities.

Food poverty is a growing issue in Scotland, according to a recent study conducted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, one in five people in Scotland were in poverty in 2019, meaning they are at an increased risk of having less access to a healthy and nutritious diet.

NHS Scotland outlined five key factors in 2017 to understanding food poverty in Scottish communities, three of those factors were:

• local availability of and access to retailers selling affordable, nutritious food
• appropriate skills and knowledge relating to nutrition and preparation of meals.
• Individual family income

One solution to food poverty would be to empower communities and support them to grow their own produce - providing towns and societies:

1. Hands on education around sustainable horticulture
2. An affordable alternative to supermarket veggies and fruits
3. Meaningful volunteering opportunities in gardens and allotments
4. Collaboration and engagement within communities as people come together with a common goal
5. Increased accessibility to local green spaces, creating pride within your community
6. Community-led development of Common Good land - giving communities more control over their green spaces.

This free webinar will take a look at key questions and issues around the Community Food Growing Strategy, such as:

• Why should communities start growing their own food?
• What support is available to local communities to start up a food growing project?
• Where to begin - how to take the initial steps in setting up a communal “grow your own” initiative
• What are the long term benefits for individuals and communities to growing your own produce?

With guest speakers Brian Gibb from Common Good Food and Julian Thompson from Shared Assets - we will investigate how communities such as Nairn can benefit from having a community food growing initiative and how our community can jump in to growing healthy, sustainable food for all.