Forth Valley Food Links (FVFL) received a Sustainable
Action Grant of £61,000 over 2001-04 to develop the local
food sector in the Forth valley area (Stirling,
Clackmannanshire and Falkirk). With some delay, the 3-year
project began in March 2002, to extend to March 2005.
The project goals were to make real inroads towards:
- overcoming diet-related health problems;
- reducing food transport-related pollution;
- increasing biodiversity and producing a healthy
environment through more land being made over to
production of fresh fruit and vegetables;
- making fresh affordable local produce readily
available throughout all communities;
- helping local producers to see benefits in selling
locally and find economic ways of doing this;
- providing opportunities for local individuals and
communities to access accredited training schemes in
food growing and horticulture.
The aim was to develop independent networked
organisations which would become self-sustaining. The idea
was the result of an intensive 18-month consultation that
highlighted the lack of diversity in local food production,
barriers to accessing what local produce does exist and the
need for comprehensive advice to overcome these
difficulties. The Sustainable Action Grant and other
funding allowed work on this to be carried out.
Initially it was necessary to rely in part on local food
suppliers rather than primary producers, while efforts
continued to encourage interested farmers to diversify
their production and channel more of it towards the local
food sector. FVFL saw the need to diversify the local food
sector to include more fruit and vegetables to complement
the more extensive meat, poultry, fish and dairy production
in the area. A survey of farming in the Forth Valley acted
as a basis from which to understand farming and rural
issues in the area - and gave good initial contacts in the
farming sector.
In 2003 FVFL collaborated with the Health Promotion
Department of Forth Valley Health Board, Forth Valley
Primary Care NHS Trust and Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and
Stirling Councils to run a Healthy School Tuckshop Event.
This was aimed at staff, parents and children from 24
schools across the Forth valley area. FVFL was instrumental
in helping to source supplies for the Healthy Tuckshops
movement and the Free Fruit in Schools initiative.
Through the Community Food Partnership, piloted in the
Stirling Council area, and Food Producers' Forum, FVFL
worked to improve communication between farmers, local
groups and community representatives. There was work to
develop the Slamannan Food Producers Co-op together with
the Executive's Farm Business Development Scheme, and the
first Falkirk Farmers' Market took place in May 2003,
followed by a market in Stirling and an occasional one in
Bridge of Allan.
FVFL is a member of the Stirling Food Partnership Group,
part of the Stirling Community Planning Partnership, and
contributed to the Joint Health Improvement Plan. FVFL
worked to the priorities of Falkirk Council's Strategic
Community Plan. In Clackmannanshire FVFL is a member of the
Alloa Orchard Community project, which aims to deal with
community health and diet, activity and exercise and social
inclusion in one far-sighted community project. There was
investigation also of the potential for more local
producers to work successfully within the public
procurement tendering process.
There was work with a range of other organisations
including the National Farmers Union Scotland, the Scottish
Agricultural College, the Federation for City Farms and
Community Gardens and the Scottish Community Diet Project.
Awareness-raising initiatives took place, such as Apple
Days at two primary schools.
FVFL provided small grants to encourage the development
of existing food-growing projects or the setting up of new
ones. A local "fruit barra" scheme set up in 2002 -
community buying co-operatives in social inclusion areas of
the Forth valley - aimed to provide affordable fresh fruit
and vegetables from local suppliers, though there was some
difficulty in getting local produce.
FVFL produced a quarterly newsletter, issued a six
weekly E-Bulletin, established a web site and instigated
promotional events within Forth Valley to link with
national initiatives, encouraging local producers to become
part of these events.
There was the high-profile achievement of a seminar in
partnership with the Sustainable Scotland Network in
September 2004: "Sustainable Food Procurement in the Public
Sector: the future for Local Food". With nationally
renowned speakers, this was chaired by Gillian Kynoch, the
Scottish Executive Food and Health Co-ordinator. FVFL asked
attending organisations to set out future actions to take
the vision forward and pledged itself to hold future 'Meet
the Producer/ Supplier' workshops within the three Local
Authority areas when each council was ready.
FVFL became part of several networking initiatives on
local food availability and use - such as the Sustain and
Soil Association 'Local Food In Hospitals Replication
Network', aiming to bring together all those seeking to
increase local and / or organic food available in NHS
Hospitals UK-wide; and the Scottish Parliament Cross Party
Group on Food, which has a Local Food sub-group.
FVFL was able to support the thinking behind the
Scottish Executive's "Hungry for Success" programme in
offering schools links to local producers for their 'Free
Fruit in Schools' initiatives, for their Healthy Tuckshops,
for their Breakfast Clubs and in special initiatives such
as 'Berry Days'.
Of the 76 communities across Forth Valley, 27 have a
higher mortality rate than the baseline population of
Scotland overall. Improving diet is one factor able to
improve that health record, and FVFL aimed to work with
communities on this.
The project attracted these endorsements:
- Pam Whittle, Director of Health Improvement, in the
Scottish Executive Health Department offered her
support and stated: "I see Forth Valley Food Links as
an exemplar project. I hope you succeed in ensuring the
initiative remains a priority" (October 2004)
- Maureen Bruce: Health Education, Diet &
Physical Activity Branch of the Scottish Executive
Health Department also sent a letter of support: "I
remain convinced that FVFL is an exemplar project and
would hope that your funding partnership would reflect
on the project's achievements in Forth Valley when
setting its local priorities." (October 2004)
- Dr Malcolm McWhirter, Director of Public Health,
Forth Valley NHS Board, stated: "We are lucky in Forth
Valley to have a very innovative project, Forth Valley
Food Links, that looks at food in its totality. The key
theme is that we should be growing more food locally
and buying it locally. Fresh fruit and vegetables grown
locally and sold locally mean fresher food but also
less polluting transport of food. This project has
encouraged young people and adults to grow food and to
taste top class produce".
- "Eating for Health - Meeting the Challenge,"
Gillian Kynoch's strategic framework for Food and
Health, brought out in 2004, which is to be used as a
basis for local food and health action plans, includes
FVFL as an example of action in 'Eating for Health - to
ensure that Primary Food Producers are contributing to
Achieving the Scottish Dietary Targets'. (2004)
There was a growing understanding throughout Forth
Valley of the value of the local food sector.
Contact
Angela Heaney
Sustainable Communities Officer
Environmental Services
Stirling Council
Viewforth
Stirling
FK8 2ET
Telephone: 01786 442 996
Email:
heaneya@stirling.gov.uk