The Scottish Food Coalition is inviting people from across Scotland to get together for Kitchen Table Talks to discuss the future of food in Scotland. The Scottish Government will soon introduce a ‘Good Food Nation Bill’ and this legislation is a chance for everyone to shape Scotland’s food system. The purpose of the Kitchen Table Talks is …
Research and consultations
A Connected Scotland: Tackling social isolation and loneliness and building stronger social connections
The Scottish Government has recently launched this consultation . We know that many community food initiatives are doing work that addresses loneliness and social inclusion in their communities, and would encourage you to feed in your experiences to the consultation, which is available on the Scottish Government website until 27 April 2018, with engagement events …
Mapping food hubs in the UK- survey participants sought
Sustainable Food Cities and the Food Research Collaborative has commissioned research to map the types of food hubs that exist, or are planned, in the UK. If you are involved in a food hub, or in setting one up, the researchers are inviting you to complete a survey.
New findings – what people think about reducing obesity in Scotland
NHS Health Scotland has released new findings about public-attitudes-to-reducing-obesity-in-Scotland. ScotCen Social Research’s Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, carried out in 2016, included a module of 40 questions (developed in consultation with NHS Health Scotland) to find out what people think about obesity and how to tackle it. The survey found that people did not always recognise obesity in themselves or others. But, most people …
Community café self evaluation group – outcomes to evaluate impact
We have been working with a group of community cafes to look at self-evaluation. Together they have developed a list of community cafe outcomes to reflect the range of differences cafes can make for their customers, volunteers and community members. We shared these with workshop delegates at ‘Sharing Patter’, our annual networking conference in November 2017, who confirmed these outcomes reflected the …
Scottish Government Consultation – Guidance – Part 9 – Allotments – Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015
The Scottish Government “Consultation on Guidance for Local Authorities, Part 9 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015” is now live: https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/food-and-drink/allotments-part-9-community-empowerment-act/start_preview?token=1415e9ba170a9a4a8b2090b0ba17debd01ead690 Written and online responses are invited by 17 November 2017 and answers will be accepted either on a completed form or on a separate piece of paper. The consultation can be downloaded here: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/consultation-guidance-local-authorities-part-9-community-empowerment-scotland-act/ …
Obesity in Scotland
A new study “Obesity in Scotland: a persistent inequality” has been published in the International Journal for Equity and Health. The study is also summarised in the ScotPHO report “Obesity and health inequalities in Scotland”. The study provides a comprehensive analysis of how levels of obesity in Scotland have changed over time and how obesity …
Help to map awareness and use of participation requests among community organisations
Are you a member of a community organisation? Have you heard of participation requests, and are you thinking about making one? Participation requests are a new way for community organisations to have their voices heard in the planning and delivery of services. The right to make a participation request to a public body was introduced …
Calling all Scottish community enterprises …
to take 10 minutes to complete the Social Enterprise Census 2017, the national count of social enterprises supported by the Scottish Government and others. Almost 900 enterprising charities, community co-ops and social enterprises have already responded

Scottish Government publication: independent analysis of responses to the consultation on a draft diet and healthy weight strategy
The Scottish Government has recently published an independent analysis of responses to the consultation on a draft diet and healthy weight strategy, held between October 2017 and January 2018. Over 360 academics, health professionals, members of the general public, organisations (including health and third sector organisations), local authorities and members of the food and drinks …