Meeting of the Parliament 17 March 2016
I congratulate Alison Johnstone on her motion and I congratulate all the local groups that are mentioned in it, especially those that are based in my constituency, which I will talk about shortly. I also congratulate the Scottish food coalition on its excellent report, which rightly emphasises the need to have the right to food in legislation. I hope that that will be taken on board in the next session of the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish food coalition report also emphasises that the core principles of environmental awareness and sustainability should be at the heart of production.
Unfortunately, the reality is very different. Instead of a right to food, we have an increasing number of food banks and unacceptable food poverty, which has been highlighted in a recent report by the Pilton Community Health Project, which is mentioned in the motion. Its report, “Good Food for All”, found that poverty and food poverty are intrinsically linked, and that securing a fairer food system is very difficult in the light of very deeply rooted and persistent poverty. That is why that excellent project, which I have known for more than a quarter of a century, has always emphasised the importance of dealing with the broader determinants of poor health and health inequalities. It has also had excellent initiatives specifically on food and other lifestyle factors.
The Pilton Community Health Project’s report, which is certainly worth reading, also notes the rise in voluntary activity to help people to eat, and to eat well. I want to highlight two excellent projects in my constituency that do precisely that. The Granton community gardeners, to whom Alison Johnstone referred, work in north Edinburgh, not far from the Pilton Community Health Project. They are local residents who are growing fruit and vegetables in several garden plots, some of which are on street corners in Granton.
The Scottish food coalition makes an interesting point in its report, to which Alison Johnstone’s motion refers, when it highlights the power of planning to ensure that vacant land is safeguarded for growing crops. That is an important part of the subject.
A great many positives are coming out of the food-growing project in Granton. There is an educational dimension, with many people learning how to grow food and acquiring information about food. Indeed, the group ran a 10-week course for local people to encourage such knowledge. There is the opportunity to taste new fruit and vegetables, and the project builds community cohesion, as people talk to neighbours to whom they might not have talked before, as they garden—which, of course, is an intrinsically healthy activity. Meals are made from the produce and are then shared and distributed to a large number of families and volunteers. The project also has a strong environmental dimension, which is crucial. Its aims include encouraging care for the environment and an awareness of local wildlife and biodiversity.
The environmental dimension is also extremely important for Leith Community Crops in Pots, which is also mentioned in the motion. Crops in Pots educates people about the interaction between food and the environment and, more important, puts environmental sustainability into practice by growing food, planting trees, helping to reduce food waste and encouraging dietary change in order to reduce environmental impacts and improve health. The charity is grateful for the climate challenge funding that it received in the most recent round—and, I think, the previous round—which has enabled it to build up a great team, to establish infrastructure including raised beds, sheds and a tree nursery, and to build close relationships with the community. Crops in Pots has put in another bid, and I hope that the minister will look favourably on it, because funding is crucial to the next stage of the charity’s development, if it is to expand its community outreach, create habitats and, of course, continue to save carbon. The charity works in local schools, holds community events and is involving more and more local people, but it needs a further round of climate challenge funding if it is to keep its excellent work going.
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