Community Food in East Dunbartonshire

Resources for Growing a Food Community

Food isn't just about providing fuel for our bodies, it has the power to connect people. From planting and growing in a community garden to learning new skills at a community cooking class, there are countless possibilities in using food to bring people together.

Community food work is about improving access to healthy and sustainable food within a community and aims to address: food insecurity, promote food justice, support sustainable food systems, build community resilience, educate & empower and advocate for policy change.

Growing a Food Community in East Dunbartonshire is a collaboration between Greater Glasgow & Clyde NHS, East Dunbartonshire Health & Social Care Partnership, East Dunbartonshire Council and East Dunbartonshire Voluntary Action along with local community groups and charities, which aims to support and develop local community food projects.

Community Growing and Cooking Vouchers

We have a limited number of vouchers which are available for community-based organisations operating in East Dunbartonshire. The vouchers are to support the development of community growing and community food projects by enabling the purchase of small amounts of equipment or supplies.

For more info and to request a voucher please apply below.

Good Food Nation

The national Good Food Nation Plan sets out six over-arching Outcomes for making Scotland a Good Food Nation

The Good Food Nation Outcomes

  • Outcome 1: Everyone in Scotland eats well with reliable access to safe, nutritious, affordable, sustainable, and age and culturally appropriate food.

  • Outcome 2: Scotland’s food system is sustainable and contributes to a flourishing natural environment. It supports our net zero ambitions, and plays an important role in maintaining and improving animal welfare and in restoring and regenerating biodiversity.

  • Outcome 3: Scotland’s food system encourages a physically and mentally healthy population, leading to a reduction in diet-related conditions.

  • Outcome 4: Our food and drink sector is prosperous, diverse, innovative, and vital to national and local economic and social wellbeing. It is key to making Scotland food secure and food resilient, and creates and sustains jobs and businesses underpinned by fair work standards.

  • Outcome 5: Scotland has a thriving food culture with a population who are interested in and educated about good and sustainable food.

  • Outcome 6: Scotland has a global reputation for high-quality food that we want to continue to grow. Decisions we make in Scotland contribute positively to local and global food systems transformation. We share and learn from best practice internationally.

The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 provides the legislative framework that enables Scotland to take steps towards realising its vision.

The Act underpins in law the work that is already being done across the Scottish Government to make Scotland a Good Food Nation. It is the foundation upon which Scotland will build our Good Food Nation.

The Act places duties on Scottish Ministers, local authorities and health boards to produce Good Food Nation Plans. These Plans will set out the main outcomes to be achieved in relation to food-related issues, the policies needed to do this and the measures that will be used to assess progress.

These Plans will deliver outcomes which support, amongst other things:

  • our nation’s social and economic wellbeing

  • the environment

  • people’s health and physical and mental wellbeing

  • economic development

  • animal welfare

  • education

  • child poverty