Category: News

Nourishing Gloucester – February Forum

Thank you to those who were able to join us for the 2nd Forum on February the 1st.

Feedback from the forum can be seen here – NG Forum Feb 2024

During the forum four areas of work were prioritised and working groups have begun to form, the areas prioritised are

  • Accessing Fresh Local Food
  • Distribution and Surplus
  • Nutrition and Learning
  • Community Growing

Wrap around support and Mapping are areas of work that are already in progress. Health and Wellbeing is a strand of work that runs through all of the priorities and funding is an area we will review with  organisations involved as this work progresses.

One thing that was requested at the forum was a directory of organisations across Gloucester who are or wish to be involved with this work. So we have created a google form to collect Directory information and will host a Gloucester specific directory. Please fill in this form to sign up to the directory and to tell us if you would like to be involved in any of the working groups.

We now have a date and venue for our first action group on Community Growing – details can be found here

Funding Update

Greener Gloucestershire Climate Change Community Fund

The fund is targeted at projects that help reduce carbon emissions and spread the word about ways to reduce emissions.

The fund can deliver grants of up to £4,999 to eligible groups. The closing date for applications is the 26th February. This is a short application window as we have very limited funds available.

Full details are available on their website here.

 

Naturesave Trust – Grant to reduce Food Waste and Insecurity

Environmental charity, Naturesave Trust, has announced that the January to February funding round is now open for applications.  The theme for this funding round will be Sustainable food.

The Trust will be looking to support community projects working to reduce food waste and food insecurity.  Organisations eligible to apply include charities, social enterprises and grassroots community organisations.

Each year the Trust donates a percentage of their income generated from Naturesave Insurance and uses these funds to support environmental and conservation projects across the UK.

In previous funding rounds, the Trust has awarded grants of between £500 to £2,500.

You can learn more about this funding  here. The closing date for applications is the 29th February 2024.

 

CLA Charitable Trust – Grants to Help Disabled and Disadvantaged People Connect with Nature (England and Wales)

Charities and not-for-profit organisations in England and Wales can apply for grants of up to £5,000 for projects that help disabled or disadvantaged people connect with nature and the countryside.

The funding, which is made available through the CLA Charitable Trust, supports projects that improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of people who are disabled or disadvantaged by helping them to visit and participate in recreational and educational opportunities in the countryside.

Priority is given to projects that focus on children and young people, disadvantaged financially, physically, mentally, or from areas of deprivation.

Funding can be used to support projects, capital works and running costs. You can learn more here.

There are usually three application rounds each year.  The application closing dates for 2024 will be announced shortly.

Hidden Hardship: Everyday Experiences, Coping Strategies, and Barriers to Wellbeing in Rural Britain

A new participatory research project by Dr Stephanie Denning at Coventry University funded by the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust has sought to better understand: people’s experiences of rural hardship, coping strategies, and barriers to improved wellbeing.

What did the research find?
The research found that hardship can be defined as struggle and tough times, reflecting daily struggle more than one-off ‘emergency’ situations. Rural hardship is not the same as urban hardship. The causes of rural hardship can be summarised as ‘lacks of’ including government support and investment, employment, transport – the jigsaw illustration further illustrates this.

In people’s coping strategies, huge importance was given to informal support networks with friends and families, in addition to support offered by local groups although these could be difficult to access with limited transport options and a fear of stigma.

Barriers to improved wellbeing were to some degree perceived as outside of people’s control, which makes it difficult for people to envisage hardship improving. These included the ‘lacks of’ such as problems with transport, lack of government support and investment, and stigma/shame linked to inequality.

Hidden Hardship research recommendations:
The research’s Report for Policymakers and Community Leaders concludes with five recommendations which are summarised here: (see the full report for more details)
1. There need to be more tailored national government and national voluntary sector responses to rural hardship.
2. More government and voluntary sector support is needed for individuals experiencing daily rural hardship including within the welfare state to address the high cost of rural living.
3. Rural residents need support accessing transport to get to medical appointments at GP surgeries and hospitals with local GP practices/branches re-opening and/or staying open.
4. Local organisations and leaders (including Church leaders) should raise awareness in the general population in rural areas such as the North Cotswolds that people are experiencing hardship, and sensitively give a voice to people experiencing hardship to share their experiences.
5. The ‘lacks of’ that cause and affect rural hardship need to be addressed in local and national government planning, notably public transport/infrastructure, affordable housing, and amenities.

Want to know more?
• Visit the project website for more information including the full Report for Policymakers and Community Leaders and accompanying 2 page briefing
• Email the project lead Dr Stephanie Denning

Cheltenham Food Strategy Group

Following our launch in June 2023, a  Food Strategy Group has formed and has started to explore the issues identified through our launch and from conversations across the borough.

This group is facilitated by Feeding Gloucestershire and comprises of representatives from –

Cheltenham Borough Council, Feed Cheltenham, Good Food Cheltenham/Project Grow, Planet Cheltenham/Vison 21 and local business

Bringing together community food support, community growing, sustainability and business with local government to explore a food strategy for Cheltenham. This group is working to identify the priority areas needed to create a sustainable food network and strategy.

The first strand of work that has been identified is food surplus/waste with a meeting scheduled for the 9th of February.

 

Nourishing Gloucester Forum

Building a sustainable food network was one of the priority areas identified at Feeding Gloucestershire’s launch in Gloucester and reflects the recommendations made in Nourishing Gloucester: A Food Strategy for All

Through the Nourishing Gloucester Forum, which is being facilitated by Feeding Gloucestershire and Gloucester City Council,  we will explore how we can bring together strategic and policy priorities with practical community delivery, knowledge and experience – to identify key development areas and create an action plan that is reflective of the needs of Gloucester City and the organisations that support the city.

At our first Forum meeting in November 2023 we explored two questions

  • What we need for a Sustainable Food Network by 2030?
  • How can we create the Network and who should be around the table?

Since our last forum we have been working in the background and we now have a dedicated email address, nourishinggloucester@gmail.com, and social media accounts so you can connect with us –Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

At our next forum on the 1st February 2024 we will be looking at deciding our priorities and asking who will join us to take this work forward

Changes to our membership and a new directory

Following on from our district launches and recent conversations, we have decided to move away from being a membership network and become a more open informal network. The decision has been taken as we were concerned that by offering membership only benefits, we were excluding organisations that could benefit. Our current membership offer will now be an open offer to organisations across the county.

We will be changing the members page on our website to become a directory and adding a directory map. We will welcome organisations and businesses  who share the ethos of Feeding Gloucestershire and invite them to become a part of the directory.

The aim is for the directory and the map is for them to become  tools for highlighting the work that is happening across the county and as a general resource for organisations and people. These changes offer an opportunity to map the wider food landscape and we would like to welcome farmers, producers,  hospitality and other food related businesses and organisations to become part of the directory.

We will begin implementing these changes on the 1st of November and if you would like to be listed on the map please fill in our form here

GREAT Food Gloucestershire

Exciting news

Feeding Gloucestershire are currently working with Jenny (Sustainable Food Places Gloucestershire) to bring to life the GREAT Food Gloucestershire Campaign which will be hosted on our website.

We will update on progress through our social media.

 

Gloucester District Launch

For our second district launch we were in Gloucester. Our thanks go to Dawn from The Venture: White City for helping us to arrange this event – from arranging the venue, to bringing the Eat Well Wagon and providing lunch. For those who have not heard of the Eat Well Wagon, it is a mobile kitchen and a wonderful community resource that has been making appearances across Gloucester during HAF.
Additional thanks go to Clare from Gloucestershire Gateway Trust and Gloucester Services for providing a taster table of delicious food from local producers.
During the event Leanne Purnell (Gloucester City Council wellbeing team) told us about the work that has been done on ‘Nourishing Gloucester – Gloucester City Food Strategy’.
We also spent time discussing the work that has been happening across the city and the challenges and opportunities to make change for the communities of Gloucester City and the county. Conversations were rich and varied and attendees left considering who else should be a part of the conversation we started at the launch.
Our thanks go to everyone who was able to join us for the launch.
Here is the link to the information and learning from this event – Gloucester Launch

Cheltenham District Launch

We started June with our 4th launch, held at the Pavillion in Cheltenham. We had a wonderful mix of people representing all sectors and the launch highlighted the partnership working that is already happening across the borough.

Our speakers included Kelly Patterson of Cheltenham Brough Council, who updated us on how the council is supporting initiatives across the district – from Feed Cheltenham to Cheltenham Zero. Linda Grice told us about the work of Feed Cheltenham and the food network. Claire Dovey spoke to us about the new growing movement that has begun in Cheltenham and Raechel Kelly told us about the work Vision 21, Planet Cheltenham and Cheltenham Zero are doing to promote sustainable living in Cheltenham and beyond.

A fantastic buffet lunch was provided by Faith of Springbank Community Group, and after lunch we had some breakout sessions to discuss the work already happening in the borough, the opportunities available and challenges we face.

We are now working to bring together the feedback from the launch, but the things that have stood out so far are –

  • More events that give us the opportunity to connect and share
  • Connecting the work across the county and learning about other projects
  • Exploring the wider opportunities to work together
  • More connection between the food support network, growing projects and the sustainability movement.
  • Mapping what is already happening and identifying the gaps.

once again our thanks go to those who were able to join us

 

Here is the information  and learning from this event – Cheltenham Launch

Forest of Dean District Launch

We hosted our first in person district event on Friday 5th May at Harts Barn in the Forest of Dean. It was a great success and as you can see from the photos, we had a great turn out of enthusiastic stakeholders, all united in the desire to support, enhance and maximise opportunities for all the communities of the Forest of Dean.

The morning gave the opportunity for a reflection of the journey to date by the Forest Voluntary Action Forum, a celebration of what a community growing project can provide to its community through Beki at Blakeney Hill Growers and an update on where the Climate Emergency strategy for the district is. What was clear throughout the morning is the food is the golden thread that ties some many pieces together. We also heard from Jenny Salter, Gloucestershire’s Sustainable Food Places coordinator about the exciting plans and initiatives that everyone can be part of from the Council, organisations, and individuals.

The morning was rounded off with a delicious lunch cooked by Joe at Harts Barn, showcasing some of the fantastic food producers from the region.

Three main areas that came out the discussion at the event were:

  • A desire for more join up:
  • Who is doing what and where?
  • Food distribution, availability and surplus
  • Digital inclusion
  • Youth Interaction and engagement

We will work with our members and partners in the Forest of Dean and the County to explore these areas further and they will drive our work in the Forest of Dean going forward.