Fair Food Fund Open For Business

Eradicating food poverty through encouraging more sustainable and dignified approaches to food provision is the key aim of a £500,000 food fund which opens for applications today.

This money is part of the £1m Fair Food Fund which will support projects which promote dignity and harness the social potential of food to connect people and develop sustainable solutions to food poverty.

The announcement was made during a visit by the Communities Secretary Angela Constance to Cyrenians farm in West Lothian. This is a working farm producing fruit, vegetables and eggs; it’s also home to a community of vulnerable young people, aged 16-30, who live alongside volunteers of the same age group who provide support.

Ms. Constance said:

“I’ve made it clear that tackling poverty will be at the heart of everything I do in this role and this fund will be so important to those that are struggling to get out of the cycle of food poverty.

“I find it hugely disappointing that anyone in a country as prosperous as Scotland is struggling to feed themselves and their children - it is simply unacceptable.

“This funding will go to innovative community projects that are helping people access affordable food, like Centrestage Dignified Food Project and Bridging the Gap..

“It will make a real difference in local communities where people are facing a daily struggle to make ends meet.

“I was really pleased to visit the Cyrenians Farm today this is a great example of communities and food coming together and playing a significant role in growing local economies, empowering local communities to take ownership of supply chains and to reducing dependence on global markets.”

Ewan Aitken, Chief Executive of Cyrenians, said:

“Cyrenians has a strong record of growing, cooking, sharing and providing opportunities for people to eat food together, building more communities and more opportunities for more people to have Something to Eat and Someone to Eat With.

“Cyrenians believe that food sustains us both physically and emotionally, nurtures relationships and is a catalyst for the connections that create communities.

“We very much support the principles of this new fund which will promote dignity in the accessing and sharing of food for those in need, harness the social potential of food to connect people and help develop sustainable solutions to food poverty.”