In March 2020, like many people, we, as researchers with an interest in food insecurity in the UK, were hugely concerned about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the national lockdown on households’ access to food. It was clear from the outset of the pandemic that need for support with food access was rising …
Covid-19
Guest blog: Katy Gordon discusses the different approaches that two local areas in Scotland took to tackle food access and food insecurity last summer.
Also posted in CFHS Blog, CFHS updates, Covid-19
Area of Work: Food poverty and access
How has Lanarkshire Community Food and Health Partnership supported a ‘cash first’ response to food insecurity?
In this blog post, Gordon Thomson, Manager for Lanarkshire Community Food and Health Partnership (LCFHP), tells us how LCFHP got involved in the ‘cash first’ approach in North Lanarkshire several years ago, and how this approach supported people during the pandemic. LCFHP has run community food activities such as community fruit and veg retail, cooking …
Also posted in CFHS Blog, CFHS updates, Covid-19
Area of Work: Covid-19 information and resources
Guest Blog: Cash First approaches to addressing food insecurity: What is the role of health visitors, midwives and family nurses?
In this guest post, Dr Flora Douglas (Reader in Nursing at Robert Gordon University) discusses her recent research: In late 2019 I was commissioned to undertake a short, focused piece of work to develop a better understanding of lived experiences of parenting on a low income in Aberdeen City, by NHS Grampian’s Child Health Commissioner. …
Also posted in CFHS Blog, CFHS updates, Covid-19
Areas of Work: Covid-19 information and resources, Food poverty and access
How have Healthy Valleys created a sense of community during online cooking courses?
Simone Janse van Rensburg tells us what she has learned from delivering their first few online courses – for parents with young children and two different weight management groups. About the courses Simone and her colleague, a cook tutor too, created some home-made videos of recipes they knew people enjoyed at face-to-face sessions and found …
Also posted in CFHS Blog, CFHS updates, Covid-19
CFHS blog – online cooking skills courses: tips and ideas from REHIS
Since March last year, The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) has allowed REHIS course presenters to deliver the REHIS Elementary Cooking Skills course virtually, using platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Adapting training to a virtual platform is not without its challenges, so REHIS recently developed some additional guidance for its course …
Also posted in CFHS Blog, Ideas about developing and running cooking skills courses
Areas of Work: Cookery skills, Covid-19 information and resources, Food and nutrition training
#CommunityFoodNearMe: reflections on community food work in my area
#CommunityFoodNearMe is our social media campaign to recognise local community food activity, which we launched in September 2020. It came from a conversation with colleague, Jacqui. We were having a phone walking meeting, discussing our social media presence. We started to chat about the importance of community support around food during lockdown, and as I stopped at …
Also posted in CFHS Blog
CFHS guest blog: How have community organisations adapted to Covid-19? EATS Rosyth
EATS Rosyth tells us how they have adapted to the lock-down and what they have learnt about joined up working in the process In this blog post, Karen Dorrat tells us how EATS Rosyth has had to adapt its work to the current lock-down. Karen discusses joined up working and how the pandemic has made …
Also posted in CFHS Blog
Area of Work: Covid-19 information and resources
CFHS blog:Have our eating and cooking habits changed since the Covid 19 lock-down? And how has the Fife Cook Well, Live Well cooking project adapted?
Prior to the lock-down, a wide range of cooking groups were run across Scotland. Unfortunately, these had to stop, and some organisations have been busy posting recipes, tips and ideas on their social media sites instead. In Fife, the Fife Council Community Food Team and Fife Health Promotion Food and Health Team are working together …
Also posted in CFHS Blog
Area of Work: Covid-19 information and resources
Guest blog: Impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns in service providers’ perspectives of the food insecurity of families with school-age children in Scotland
David Watts and John McKenzie from the Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen discuss findings from their research during the Covid pandemic: In 2021, with Scottish Government funding, we interviewed staff and volunteers working to provide emergency food supplies to families with school-age children during the Covid-19 lockdowns. We had two aims. First, to understand how …