News

Trellis (the Scottish Therapeutic Gardening Network) is currently recruiting for a part-time (15 hrs) Information Officer based in Perth, salary £19311 pro-rata. Further information is available from www.goodmoves.org.uk/findajob/findajobdet.asp?id=10275&tab=2    

A shop manager is required for a new fruit and vegetable social enterprise opening shortly in Dumfries town centre. More information and application details are available from www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/Internet/jobDetails.do  (ref:DUC/37062)

Issue 44 of Fare Choice, our quarterly newsletter, is now available to download from the Publications Library.

A new action plan, 'Healthy Eating, Active Living', targeting obesity, poor diet and the promotion of physical exercise has been launched by the Scottish Government, highlighting an additional £40 million pounds of new funding to be provided over the next three years. The plan will have a focus...

Equally Well, the report of the ministerial task force on health inequalities was launched last week by Minister for Public Health, Shona Robison. The report highlights the £1.78 billion being spent on tackling health inequalities over the next three years but recommends that this resource can...

A flavour of what the future holds for Scottish communities tackling food access, social exclusion and health inequalities was given today in the Ministerial announcement on a National Food Policy.  Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, used this year's Royal Highland Show to...

The Food and Health Alliance (FHA) was set up to bring together, inform, and support those working to make a difference to food, nutrition, and health in Scotland. The Alliance is now seeking views about the information, networks, and support that you use, or might...

To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the NHS, Health Scotland is staging public health roadshows across Scotland’s 14 health boards. The roadshows will consist of interactive displays, a fruit machine game for children and lots of free merchandise will be given away on the day including...

Major new funding has become available which may be of use to those trying to develop community-based sustainable food systems. Funding, from a few pounds to a million, is now available to community groups through the Scottish Government's new Climate Challenge Fund just launched. Food...

Cyrenians Farm is currently looking to recruit a Project Worker (Farm Enterprise) £17,355 - £21,048 P/A. Full Time (37 hours per week). Full details and an application form are available from http://www.cyreniansfarm.org.uk/jobs.aspx  

The International Association for Public Participation is planning a conference, 'Public Participation and Social Responsibility: from why to how', to be held at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow on 27-29 August 2008. The conference will be about 'embedding public participation into successful corporate social...

Glasgow City Council’s Land and Environmental Services are carrying out a consultation on the draft Allotments Strategy, and they are seeking the views of allotment gardeners and other interested parties. The Strategy contains 10 key objectives, all of which aim to make Glasgow’s allotments provision the...

CFHS is pleased to announce that the date has been set for this year's free annual networking conference which will be held at the Thistle Hotel, Glasgow on Tuesday 11 November. We are still in the early stages of planning this event, but further details will...

The deadline for responses to the Scottish Government's discussion paper on 'Taking Forward the Government Economic Strategy: A Discussion Paper on Tackling Poverty, Inequality and Deprivation in Scotland' has been extended to 30 June 2008. More information on the discussion and how to respond is available...

CFHS is delighted to open the 2008 small grant scheme. Groups or agencies working with low-income groups in Scotland are welcome to apply for between £500 and £3000 to tackle one or more of the barriers to healthy eating that many people face on a...

On 18 March CFHS facilitated a national seminar at the Piping Centre in Glasgow to ensure that the experience and understanding of low-income communities is included in the development of a future National Food Policy for Scotland. The report from that seminar (PDF 232 kb) contains the...

Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh is looking for community groups who are able to offer work placements to students (MSc in Public Health Nutrition and BSc (Hons) Nutrition) to complement their academic studies. If you are able to offer hands-on experience as a volunteer within your community group...

The report of our annual networking conference, Back in Touch, held at Murrayfield Conference Centre in Edinburgh on 11 October 2007, is now available to download from the Publications Library.

Issue 43 of Fare Choice is now available to download from the Publications Library.

The next Food Access Network/FSA UK Liaison event will be held on Tuesday 16 April at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. The theme for this event will focus on ‘Food Access and Older People’ and this event is aimed at anyone from the UK or...

The discussion paper 'Choosing the Right Ingredients - the future of food for Scotland' sets out the Scottish Government's vision for food in Scotland.  Community Food and Health (Scotland) believes that the experience and understanding of disadvantaged communities will be crucial in ensuring future policy around...

South Ayrshire Council has received £10,000 from the Food Standards Agency to deliver the REHIS Elementary Food and Health Course to specific target groups of people in the community. The project aims to deliver 11 courses training up to 154 people who engage directly with...

The Hidden Gardens in Glasgow is currently recruiting for a Sessional Cookery Workshop leader (4-8 hours/week, salary £50/workshop) to facilitate cookery skills sessions as part of a weekly Baby Weaning Club and a Women's Cultural Cookery Group. Please note that only women are eligible to apply,...

Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment today launched a national discussion on a food policy for Scotland at a breakfast club in Edinburgh www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2008/01/14151919 The discussion paper 'Choosing the Right Ingredients - the future of food for Scotland' sets out the Scottish...

CFHS is holding 2 one-day events for community food enterprises interested in finding out more about social enterprise - Getting Down to Business will take place on 7 February 2008 in Edinburgh, and 28 February 2008 in Inverness. Getting Down to Business will give participants an opportunity...

Edition 5 of our regular e-bulletin update on developments in food, health and homelessness in Scotland is now available to download from the Our Newslettters section of the Publications Library.

Issue 42 of Fare Choice, our quarterly newsletter, is now available to download from the Publications Library.

The Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) is taking forward four new programmes to help develop practice and improve outcomes in community engagement and community capacity.  ‘Strengthening Scotland’s Communities’ is one of these and aims to help improve the quality and impact of community capacity building...

Two new publications are available to download from the Policy and Planning section of the Publications Library. The briefing paper Implementing Together the Community-Led Task Group Recommendations was written for participants of the CFHS annual networking conference held on 11 October 2007. It was jointly prepared by...

The University of Dundee and the Institute of Socail Marketing at the University of Stirling are looking for health professionals interested in the communication of portion size information when giving dietary advice to take part in a research project funded by NHS Health Scotland entitled...

CFHS is holding 2 one-day events for community food enterprises interested in finding out more about social enterprise - Getting Down to Business will take place on 7 February 2008 in Edinburgh, and 28 February 2008 in Inverness. Getting Down to Business will give participants an opportunity...

The Food and Health Alliance conference is to be held in Edinburgh on 5 February 2008.  Abstract submissions are encouraged around the following themes by 14 December 2007: infant nutrition (0-2 age group) plus maternal nutrition; creating healthy places/food int the public sector; the food...

Comic Relief has announced that the next application deadline for grants over £5,000 is 29th February 2008. Grants are being offered through six programme areas:  young people; older people; mental health; refugees and asylum seekers; domestic violence; and disadvantaged communities. The grants programme is open to registered charities and constituted...

As we are all aware, succeeding in making Scotland healthier depends on contributions from many partners including the NHS, local authorities and the community and voluntary sector. The contribution of the community and voluntary sector was fully emphasised at a recent national event held on the...

A scoping study commissioned by CFHS looking at the potential for greater collective activity amongst a number of key community food initiatives in east-central Scotland is now available to download from the Policy and Planning section of the Publications Library. As well as continuing to...

The Food Train, a local and voluntary charity organisation which provides grocery shopping home delivery services for elderly, housebound and disabled people across Dumfries and Gallowy has had its support to customers dropped by Tesco in Stranraer. Previously they had filled customers orders so that...

A Taste for Independence is now available to download from the Business and Project Development section of the Publications Library. This guide discusses the experiences of 21 organisations throughout Scotland who work with a range of vulnerable groups, including people with learning disabilities, young carers...

Edition 41 of Fare Choice, our quarterly newsletter, is now available to download from the Our Newsletters section of the publications library. Also new in the publications library are the notes from our roundtable discussion on 0-5 Children and Parents, including infant nutrition.

In the last edition (40) of Fare Choice we featured East Lothian Roots and Fruits in a Take Stock article. We let you know that they were soon to be featured on BBC's Beechgrove Garden. Filming was completed in June, which was lots of fun,...

Issue 40 of our quarterly newsletter Fare Choice and Issue 4 of Food Matters,  our update on developments in food, health and homelessness in Scotland, are now available to download from the Our Newsletters section of the Publications Libary.

CFHS is running participatory appraisal training in Dumfries from 17-21 September 2007. Anyone involved with community-based food and health work in Scotland can apply to attend this free course. Participatory Appraisal (PA) is a family of approaches and methods which enable local people to explore issues...

Primetime is a new funding initiative for the over 50s that the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland is running in Partnership with BBC Scotland. Primetime puts the power of making decisions about National Lottery money into the hands of people in Scotland. Six grants will...

Fruitful Participation: involving people in food and health work is a new publication from Community Food and Health (Scotland) which gives a snapshot of how getting people involved in decision-making around food and health issues can be enjoyable, democratic, empower those involved and make a...

Would you like to know more about providing more adapted, varied and nutritious meals for the homeless people who access your services? Would you like to be able to provide basic nutritional advice to your clients? Are you keen to find out more about the...

CFHS has put together a briefing sheet giving information about the services and key contacts that the main Scottish banks offer to projects using social enterprise approaches. It was produced because people working in community food initiatives using a social enterprise approach said they were...

The Community Food and Health (Scotland) small grant scheme is now open. Grants from £500 to £3000 are available to groups and agencies in Scotland who wish to improve access to, and take up of a healthy, varied and balanced diet. Please visit our funding...

The Food Standards Agency is inviting applications for grants of up to £10,000 to support local food initiatives. The scheme is open to local authorities, food liaison groups and trading standards regional groups and their equivalents in all UK countries. More information and application forms can...

The next deadline for grant applications to the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Standard Grants Programme is 21 May 2007. The Foundation makes grants totalling approximately £8 million each year to recognised charities in Scotland which are focused on improving the quality of life and...

The Big Lottery Fund and ITV have announced a bigger People's Millions public voting competition for 2007. Ninety grants of £80,000 are available this year, including awards to the most popular runners-up in each ITV region. The entry deadline for applications for funding to be awarded...

Supply, Standards and Strategy was an international conference, held in London on 15 February 2007, examining how to make public sector food and its supply systems more sustainable. A note of the reflections of the Scottish participants at this event is now available to download...

The latest edition of our (redesigned) quarterly newsletter, Fare Choice, is now available to download from the Publications Library.

Grassroots organisations considering themselves to be at the forefront of tackling social disadvantage are invited to enter the Centre for Social Justice Awards 2007.  The Awards reward and celebrate grassroots organisations doing exceptional work in tackling poverty and advancing social justice.  This year 8 awards...

In September 2006, the food, health and homeless initiative at Community Food and Health (Scotland) commissioned Blake Stevenson to undertake a baseline study of food, health and homelessness projects, programmes and initiatives in Scotland.  The report of this study is now available to download from...

As part of our work on food, health and homelessness we are currently offering opportunities for practitioners, policy-makers and all those concerned with this topic to share and learn from each other Scotland-wide. We are currently piloting a series of 3 training events entitled ‘Sharing...

CFHS recognises the need for greater contribution from those directly involved in delivering and supporting community based food activity to its steering group. We are currently recruiting for three community representatives on our steering group which meets quarterly. If you think you can contribute to the development...

Notes from the roundtable discussion on our work with local retailers with regard to the Scottish Grocer's Federation HealthyLiving programme is now available to download from the Catering and Retailing section of the publications library or contact Alice or Rita to receive a hard copy.

The report of Community Food and Health (Scotland)'s networking conference, Bridges, held at the Apex Hotel in Dundee on 28 September 2006, is now available to download from the Conferences and Networking section of the Publications Library or contact Alice or Rita if you would like...

Community Food and Health (Scotland) receives frequent requests for placements from colleges and universities that would like to place their students in community food initiatives to gain experience of working in a community food Initiative (CFI) and complete a piece of course work or research.   Usually...

Trellis is the new Scottish national charity that supports therapeutic gardening projects. Based in Perth, Trellis will run regional networking events, an annual conference in March, and advice and support services, as well as promoting the field of therapeutic horticulture.  Trellis is based at Bell's...

Thank you to everyone who contributed to finding a new name for the Scottish Community Diet Project. After ten years we have taken the decision to change our name to Community Food and Health (Scotland). Whilst the old name was well known, it was felt by...

The review of the Scottish Diet Action Plan has now been completed by a distinguished panel, chaired by Prof Tim Lang. Why not give your opinion of the review, whether it reflects your impressions, concerns, or aspirations, on our new discussion forum?