Current work

Please contact us if you would like more information on any of these areas of work.

Evaluation of Community Food and Health (Scotland)

CFHS is currently undertaking an external evaluation that will explore the difference we make and the learning we should take on board in the future.  This evaluation will help us to demonstrate our impact and explain how and why we make a difference.  We also expect to identify areas where we can do things differently in the future, to maximise the value we add.  CFHS has commissioned EKOS to undertake this independent evaluation of its work over the period 2008/11.

There are two ways in which you can input to the evaluation:

You can quickly register your views at www.ekosonlineresearch.co.uk/cfhs.htm. The closing date for responses is Friday 17 September 2010.

EKOS is also holding six regional workshops to gain further insights from those working or involved in the community food and health sector. The workshops will be held as follows:

Glasgow - The Hidden Gardens, 14 September (10am – 12 noon)
Perth - Perth Christian Centre, 15 September (1pm – 3pm)
Dumfries – Dumfries Citizens Advice Bureau, 16 September (10am – 12 noon)
Aberdeen - Third Level Resources Ltd, 20 September (11.30am – 1.30pm)
Edinburgh - Southside Community Centre, 21 September (1pm – 3pm)
Stirling- Sunlite Cafe, 23 September (10am – 12 noon)

Please contact Lorna Bryson, EKOS on 0141 353 8327 to book a space or to find out more information about the study.   

Extending the reach

Wednesday 29 September 2010, 10.00am to 4.00pm
The Albany Learning and Conference Centre, Glasgow

Extending the reach’ is a CFHS development day for organisations that are, or could be, tackling health inequalities with minority ethnic communities through food. ‘Extending the reach’ will look at current practice, key issues and support available to groups and organisations working on healthier food with minority ethnic communities.

The event will be the official launch of the REACH mapping study into activity around food and health with minority ethnic communities across Scotland and include input from support agencies. Participants will have an opportunity to identify key areas for future work to increase the reach of food and health work with minority ethnic communities across Scotland.

A booking form (PDF 144 kb) is now available. Booking forms should be returned by 3 September. 2010.  For further information, contact Sue

Healthy Goals - Annual Networking Conference 2010

We are delighted to announce that this year’s conference will take place on Thursday 21 October at the Park Hotel in Kilmarnock. As always our event will provide an opportunity for all those working in community food and health to come together and share learning, practice, and skills with others tackling food access and health inequalities across Scotland.

Healthy Goals will feature speakers from community food intiatives describing how their practice and experiences are having an impact on local and national policy. This will be followed by a programme of workshop sessions (morming and afternoon) from food markets to food co-ops, cooking classes, community cafes and gardens, to early years and older people.

More information and workshop descriptions (PDF 1605 kb) are now available.  Please make sure that you read this information before completing both sides of the booking form (PDF 183 kb), to include your workshop selections.  Please return booking forms to us by 1 October 2010.

Evaluation Support Scotland Learning Account

In 2009 CFHS had a learning account  with Evaluation Support Scotland (ESS), a Scottish Charity funded by the Scottish Government and the Big Lottery Fund,  that enabled up to 12 projects access the full range of basic training offered by ESS. 

As a result of the success of this account, CFHS is now opening a learning account with ESS for 2010.

Through the learning account CFHS will pay the fees for up to 12 places on the ESS Core Course Programme, which includes four different training courses:

- What are my outcomes?
- Collecting information to report on outcomes
- Using visual approaches to evaluate your project
- Telling my story - analysing and reporting outcomes.

CFHS is also arranging additional events for participants so that they can share their learning and experience of self-evaluation. This first event will be run along with the first training course on 16 November. 

If you are interested in this training, please read the ESS Learning Account information (PDF 191 kb) and complete and return the application form (PDF 312 kb). Please contact Katrina if you have any queries.

Work in retailing

CFHS is working with the Scottish Grocers Federation (SGF) and community food networks to roll out the SGF 'Healthy Living' programme to community food co-ops and community food outlets. Two training sessions, on how to sell more fruit and vegetable and waste less, are being held in Stirling on 30 September and Rigside in South Lanarkshire on 8 October. Both sessions are open anyone working in community food co-ops, fruit and vegetable barras, fruit stalls and community-managed shops. Groups that take part in a training session will be able to apply for the long-term loan of one of the two types of healthyliving programme’s display stands that are available. If you want to attend, please complete and return our application form (PDF 219 kb) by 10 September. 

We are also running a Training the Trainers session for community food organisations involved in  managing or supporting community food co-ops, outlets and stalls. The session will look at the ’healthyliving’ programme’s training materials in more detail, enabling participants to deliver the programme’s training session within their own organisations and others that they work with.  The session is being held on 6 October in Glasgow,. It is open to anyone who has, or will have, a role in supporting others who are working in community food co-ops, stalls or outlets.  We would like participants to have some experience of delivering training.  If you want to take part in the Training the Trainers session, but have no previous training experience, we will assist you to find a suitable opportunity to develop training skills.  To book a place, or for more information, contact Anne.

An evaluation (PDF 3376 kb) of the pilot of this work was produced in 2009. The evaluation looked at how useful the training and resources were to community food outlets that took part in the pilot.

In 2007, CFHS commissioned a scoping study (PDF 1130kb) into the potential for collective action by the community and voluntary sectors in east/central Scotland to tackle food access through improvements in the supply chain infrastructure.

CFHS also commissioned a similar scoping study for the Glasgow area in 2009. A copy of this report (PDF 807 kb) is also available.

CFHS is also on the board of the Community Retailing Network, which represents a number of community-owned shops in some of Scotland’s remotest communities.

Community food workers

CFHS is currently in the early stages of planning a pilot networking and learning event for community food workers employed by a range of agencies and organisations across Scotland. This event will give workers an opportunity to come together to learn and share around their community food work.

CFHS is currently gathering information on what would make this event useful. If you are a community food worker and would like to share your thoughts with us, please contact Ger. More information about this event will be available in the autumn.  

Evaluation of social enterprise activities

Since 2008, CFHS has offered a range of learning and development opportunities around social enterprise. We want to find out how useful these activities have been in the longer term for the organisations that took part. If you have participated  in any of the activities that we have run (including ‘Getting Down to Business’ events, study tours in Aberdeen and Edinburgh and the Social Enterprise Academy’s learning and development programme), please complete our short evaluation form at www.surveymonkey.com/s/VMTTFN3

Case studies and information for a publication on the links between food and positive mental health and wellbeing

CFHS is currently working with the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health over the next few months to produce a joint bulletin on the links between food and positive mental health and wellbeing.

SDC are carrying out a short research proejct to look at ways in which food, nutrition, food preparation, gardening, and growing link to mental health and wellbeing. The bulletin will also have case study material from a small number of organisations.

If you are aware of any material relevant to this study, please contact Sue.

Evidencing our impact - celebrating the contribution of community food initiatives

Across Scotland community food initiatives are making a difference. Through improved access to food, communities address health inequalities and improve the health of individuals and families.  This event, held on 23/24 August 2010, brought people together who have very different experiences of evaluation - those who are new to self-evaluation and those who have done lots of evaluation. A number of different organisations who will be involved in this event, including the Scottish Government, Evaluation Support Scotland, the BIG Lottery Fund and community food initiatives. 

Selling fruit and vegetables in hospitals and health centres

In early January CFHS hosted a roundtable discussion about food co-ops and stalls operating in hospitals and health centres. This meeting was very successful, with people attending from Dumfries and Galloway, Aberdeen, Forth Valley, Edinburgh and Lanarkshire.

A short report from the discussion (PDF 80 kb) , describing the successes, challenges and ideas for best practice is now available.

Evaluations of some of the community food initiatives involved are also available to download below.

Evaluation of CFINE at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary [presentation] (PDF 192 kb]

Evaluation of CFINE at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (PDF 40 kb)

Evaluation of Fruits and Fruits in Lanarkshire [presentation] (PDF 754 kb)

Evaluation of 'Allotment' at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary [presentation] (PDF 99 kb)

If you are involved in similar work and would like to share your learning, please contact Katrina.

Exploring food and families in East Lothian

CFHS and Edinburgh Napier University are collaborating with two community groups in East Lothian to explore family food practices for families with young children. This research will take place over the next few months and will involve speaking with parents to find out more about the role food plays in their family and what influences this. As part of this work we will be exploring how parents understand and talk about food and its relationship with health, in particular for younger children. We will also be exploring what influences this, such as the wider family, the current recession and other barriers that families might be experiencing. The findings from this work will be shared between the groups to help them learn about the work they do around food and health. We will also share the findings more widely later in the year.

Capacity building pilot for community cafes

With the Edinburgh Food and Health Training Hub, we ran a capacity building pilot for community cafes between March and June this year. Nine cafes in total took part in the programme. Feedback from the participants has been very positive.

CFHS is now carrying out an evaluation of the pilot, to identify if, and how, it has made a difference to the cafes that took part.  Once completed, the evaluation report will be available on our website. In the meantime, for more details about the programme, contact Anne.

Community food sector as a key contributor to health

In 2007 the Scottish Government launched its National Performance Framework, which includes one overarching purpose, strategic objectives, 15 national outcomes and 45 national indicators. This outcomes-focused approach details the national outcomes that the Scottish Government believes need to be achieved in order to make Scotland wealthier and fairer, safer and stronger, smarter, greener and healthier. The national outcomes also directly inform Single Outcome Agreements.

Considering this framework, CFHS has been exploring the national outcomes and how to highlight the contribution community food initiatives are making to the desired changes for Scotland. In order to ensure that the contribution made by community food initiatives is recognised, we want to demonstrate how it is made and what it looks like in practice.

We have heard from some community food initiatives about how they feel they are making a contribution across Scotland. We will be collating everyone's responses to create a picture of the sector's work and to showcase examples of how community food initiatives are making a key contribution across Scotland.

If you would like to send us any information about your project or organisation, please use the template below.

Contribution to national outcomes template (PDF 102 kb)

For more information, please contact Katrina.

Single Outcome Agreements

Single Outcome Agreements (SOAs) are now the key way that Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) identify their priorities for local communities, in line with national outcomes identified by the Scottish Government. In June 2009 the second round of SOAs were agreed between the Scottish Government and CPPs, which set out the outcomes CPPs are aiming to achieve for local communities. In order to measure change within local communities and progress towards achieving local and national outcomes, SOAs include a wide range of different indicators, selected at a local level.

As part of the continual development of SOAs, CFHS, along with CHEX and VHS, have been invited to comment on the menu of indicators, from which CPPs can select the most relevant (or they can develop their own). The aim of this work is to continue to develop indicators that are meaningful at a local level and across Scotland. CFHS is using this opportunity to highlight the contribution made by community and voluntary organisations and hope to influence the indicators to incorporate this.

We have heard about one or two examples of people linking the outcomes they achieve to those within their local SOAs. If you have been involved in any work like this we would be really keen to hear from you and to hear about how you got on.

Please contact Katrina.

Healthier food pilots

Four organisations have received funding under the healthier food pilots and work is now underway.

Fife Arabic Society is running a programme of healthy eating and cooking on a budget for groups from all sections of the community across Fife. Classes will focus on preparing nutritious, healthy meals using locally sourced produce from African, Asian, Middle Eastern and Scottish recipes. At the end of the programme a healthy eating event will be held for the community to sample the food that participants have learned to prepare.

Cranhill Community Project is using its funding to consult with local black and minority ethnic communities in Cranhill to inform the redevelopment of its community cafe. This involves setting up taster sessions, making recommendations for new items on the menu, expanding volunteering opportunities and launching as an international cafe.

Community Organisation for Racial Equality (formerly BCDP) is setting up an accredited 18 hour healthy cooking skills course for volunteers from its World Cafe initiative. Volunteers have already undertaken some training and are looking to increase their skills. This will impact not only on their own health, but on that of their families and of the wider community who use the World Cafe.

Renfrewshire Association for Mental Health is running a six-week course with women from black and minority ethnic communities who have been in contact with the organisation in the past. Sessions on the links between diet and positive mental health, physical activities, and alternative therapies are on offer. It is hoped that at the end of the programme the group will want to carry on meeting on a regular basis.

Food and health activities among black and minority ethnic communities in Scotland

REACH Community Health Project is in the final stages of finishing its research into community-based food and health work among black and minority ethnic communities across Scotland. Interviews with 790 organisations have identified a wide range of food-related work taking place within minority ethnic communities and also substantial unmet need. Organisations said that they would welcome more networking opportunities, training and information, tailored to working with BME communities.They also highlighted the fact that, "The sector has expertise to do sustained work, but is constantly hampered by a lack of recognition and sustained funding".

A summary of the final report (PDF 2 MB) is now available.

Economic Evaluation

In 2009 CFHS supported two community food and health projects to analyse economic evidence for their work. One project was the Happy Jack project, delivered by Edinburgh Community Food Initiative, the other being The Food Train in Dumfries and Galloway. These commissioned case studies present an opportunity to consider different approaches to gathering economic evidence with two very different community food initiatives.

The reports produced from both these studies are now available.

Evaluation of the Food Train in terms of its economic value (PDF 526 kb)

An evaluation of Happy Jack: What is the economic value of the project? (PDF 576 kb)

CFHS is currently pulling together the learning from this work to share with other community food initiatives. The work is also being presented at this year's UKPHA conference. Key findings, successes and challenges will all be shared in a publication produced in the spring.

The Economic Evidence Working Group, led by NHS Health Scotland, has been exploring economic evidence for community led health organisations and how people can be supported to gather and use this type of evidence. The work has resulted in case studies exploring the potential for community based organisations to work with economic evidence and a national conference exploring this agenda with community and voluntary organisations along with commissioners and funders.

In April this year the Economic Evidence Working Group hosted a roundtable discussion with community and voluntary organisations that have an interest in economic evidence and produced a report (PDF 504 kb) from the day. The working group is now producing a briefing paper which will aim to answer the questions which were raised at the roundtable discussion, which will be available to download shortly.

For more information, please contact Katrina.

Small Grant Scheme

We distribute a total of £100,000 each year through our small grants scheme. Groups and agencies can apply for between £500 and £4000 to develop healthy eating activities with or within low-income groups based in Scotland.

The small grants scheme for 2010 has now closed. See our funding section for more details.

Youth funding package

In addition to our annual small grants scheme, last year we also offered a one-off youth funding package. The CFHS youth funding package provided money to develop two parts of food and health activities. The first part was for groups to complete the REHIS Elementary Food and Health course and the second part was for developing healthy eating activities. Groups and agencies working with young people (12-25 years) from low-income communities were invited to apply for this funding. In May 2009 we awarded funding to 24 groups working with young people out of 49 applications. Successful applicants came from across Scotland and include work with young people in supported accommodation, and young carers, as well as a range of youth clubs. We will be reporting on these groups' activities in 2010.  

Food, accessibility and older people

Moray Older People's Survey on Food and Related Issues

Community First (Moray) has completed its research with 100 older people across Moray. The report provides a detailed picture of issues of concern to older people in terms of shopping, food preparation and using food services.

Key findings from the survey are that:

• 76% of people interviewed report some problems with shopping for food. 51% of those interviewed need help with their shopping and 31% of these cannot always get the help they need.
• 77% of interviewees have a hot meal every day and 20% nearly every day. Of concern are the three people identified in the survey who only have a hot meal once or twice a week.
• Food services such as lunch clubs and meals on wheels, which also involve volunteers, provide an added social element that is highly appreciated by older people.

The report (PDF 843 kb) , which has already been covered in the local press, will inform work on the development of the Food Train in Moray and the future development of an information service for older people.

The questionnaire (PDF 109 kb) and methodology (Word 15 kb) is now also available to any other organisation that wants to build a picture of the experience of older people in their particular area.

Roundtable discussion: a focus on food services for older people in the community

A roundtable discussion on food services for older people, co-hosted by CFHS and Consumer Focus Scotland (CFS) took place on 25 February.

Despite the snow, it brought together representatives from the Scottish Government, Food Standards Agency, NHS Health Scotland, BME Elders Group, the Food Train, Scottish Pensioners Forum and CFHS and CFS boards.

The barriers older people face in getting access to healthy food of their choice, the range of current services, and the importance of community food initiatives in supporting older people to eat well were all covered. The roundtable also looked at gaps in what we currently know, eg. availablility of food delivery services in different local authority areas, and also at areas for practice innovation.

Both CFHS and CFS are now looking at how to take this work forward and full details will be posted on this site.

Notes from the roundtable discussion (PDF 117 kb) are now available.

If you would like to be kept informed about future work in this area, contact Sue.

Older People Eating Well