#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 …
CFHS Blog
CFHS blog: Food insecurity research conference – learning from across the globe
We recently attended the second ENUF (Evidence and Network on UK Household Food Insecurity) UK conference on research, food and poverty. Around 200 people attended this virtual conference, including a good mix of people from academia, public health and community food projects. This two day conference covered many topics. In this blog we provide a …
Also posted in CFHS updates, Covid-19, News
Areas of Work: Covid-19 information and resources, Food poverty and access
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 Covid-19
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 Covid-19
Area of Work: Covid-19 information and resources
What do researchers talk about when they talk about cooking skills courses?
I was recently lucky enough to attend and present the results of our realist evaluation of cooking skills courses at a conference in Lisbon. This was the 3rd COOK and Health international conference and was attended by around 60 researchers, all of whom, like me, were enthusiastic about cooking skills. So what did we have …
Also posted in CFHS updates, Cooking skills research
Area of Work: Cookery skills
“Community anchor” – big or small? What’s in this term for community food initiatives to think about?
“Community anchor” has become a bit of a cool term, to describe the stature and relevance of organisations within a community to funders and policy makers. Alongside “anchor organisation” and “anchor institution” (see box insert) this jargon is doing the rounds, and though the language is not new[1], I wonder if we all mean the …
Also posted in CFHS updates
Area of Work: Information provision
In food bank Britain, how can Scotland best run holiday clubs?
“…. And it was the first time he’d ever seen the sea…” This is what I remember from the University’s evaluation of holiday clubs I once ran. I’ve long forgotten the academic’s impressive statistics – her pages of scientific proof of the equitable benefits of those holiday clubs – it is just this anecdote that …
Also posted in CFHS updates, News
Why becoming a Good Food Nation will be good for our health
Lesley McCranor, Executive Manager at Healthy Valleys, talks about the Scotttish Government’s Good Food Nation consultation … In 2017, 65% of adults aged 16 and over were overweight, including 29% who were obese. (NHS Health Scotland Nov 2018). Therefore, it may not be surprising to learn that Scotland has the fifth highest prevalence of obesity …
Also posted in CFHS updates, News
Reasons to be cheerful part 2 – CFHS cooking skills research. What did we learn about the best ways to run a cooking skills course?
Our cooking skills study group realist evaluation (2016-2018), gathered information from 29 community cooking skills courses (attended by 75 adults -all of whom were managing on low-incomes and the majority were ‘vulnerable’*). The results showed that: 79% improved their cooking skills (a further 16% could already cook) 68% made steps to improve their diet As …
Also posted in CFHS updates, Cooking skills research
Areas of Work: Cookery skills, Information provision, Research and evaluation
The Community and Third Sector Recovery Fund is still open
The Community and Third Sector Recovery Fund is continuing to provide grants, including to organisations providing support with food. For more information and to apply visit: https://scvo.scot/support/coronavirus/funding/scottish-government