The £150,000 Good Food for All Fund allocates grants of up to £10,000 to schemes that support the aims of the Stirling Food Framework. These aims include tackling food poverty, promoting healthy and sustainable food, and building community food knowledge, skills and resources.
Successful projects had to deliver local action on at least one of the following areas:
- Improving access to, and promotion of, good quality, healthy and sustainable food
- Addressing food insecurity and tackling food poverty, diet-related ill health, and providing access to affordable, healthy food
- Increasing access to food education and building community food knowledge, skills, resources, and projects.
An additional £50,000 was available for crisis or emergency food supplies required by groups that operate food banks or community larders. In total, 23 schemes were awarded a grant across both funds.
Make a real difference to our communities
Convener of Stirling Council’s Community Wellbeing and Housing Committee, Cllr Gerry McGarvey said: “We are delighted at the diverse range of projects from across Stirling that have secured grants from the Good Food for All Fund.
“Schools, community groups, third sector organisations and local partners will now have the means to deliver important initiatives that will ensure people can access affordable, healthy food as well as enhancing the sustainability of local food systems.
“Whether it’s developing cooking skills for young people and adults, increasing the number of spaces to grow fresh produce or increasing awareness of the benefits of breastmilk and breastfeeding, these schemes will make a real difference to our communities.
“The funding distributed by the Council shows our commitment to tackling the causes and impacts of food poverty amid the current cost of living crisis. By working together with community groups and our key partners, we will help deliver a fair and sustainable food system for the people of Stirling.”
A decision panel, which included public and third sector representatives from Stirling’s Food Partnership assessed the applications in October.
The projects that secured a grant were announced at last Thursday’s meeting of the Community Wellbeing and Housing Committee. A list of the successful projects can be found in the report on the Community Planning Partnership.