Over £475,000 allocated to support local food projects across Glasgow

Published: 19 February 2024

17 food growing projects in Glasgow have received a share of £475,857 in grants from the Glasgow Food System Development Fund, which supports community-led projects delivered by third sector organisations whose work contributes to the Glasgow City Food Plan.

The funding process invited applications for projects which would have a long-term impact, with a direct improvement to the resilience of the city's food system, including the growing or production of food, its distribution and disposing of waste. The maximum award was £50,000. The Glasgow Food System Development Fund was created through the support of the Scottish Government's Place Fund.

The projects to receive this funding are as follows:

• Friends of Ashton (£4,392 grant award) - Friends of Ashton is an independent charity with its registered address and project site in the grounds of Ashton Secondary School, an ASL in Craigend. The project aims to address food poverty experienced by families as well as provide educational benefits to some of the most disadvantaged young people in the area. The 'food to table' project aims to extend existing horticultural work, giving pupils opportunities to engage in nature and the benefit provided in the food they eat. The project also hopes to foster elements of kindness by giving excess crops to some 40 families who use foodbanks due to the cost-of-living crisis, in addition to their bearing additional expense to care for a severely disabled child. The main element of funding is to install wheelchair accessible pathways.
• North Glasgow Community Food Initiative (£6,609.20) - Funding is provided to address critical maintenance needs and improve water sustainability within Milton Community Garden and critical repair of the cabin roof, the central hub housing essential equipment. Through such improvements the project addresses accessibility to fresh, nutritious food. It offers volunteering opportunities and community-led activities aimed at cultivating food directly within the garden, fostering a sense of ownership and access to affordable, locally grown produce. Additionally, initiatives such as providing seedlings, educational programs, and guidance on growing food, empower residents to enhance their own gardens and improve food access at a household level.
• G3 Growers (£8,500) - this funding will allow G3 Growers to upgrade the existing growing facility and realign the layout of the site in Finnieston to increase growing opportunities. G3 Growers aim is to provide locally grown organic produce within a city environment to benefit and educate local people. Through this funding the organisation shall increase growing yield and share a practical blueprint for other projects to learn from. G3 Growers are committed to collaborating with other start-up community gardens to share experiences and help create new spaces.
• Urban Roots (£18,443.95) - 'Toryglen Growing Together' will expand the food growing capacity of the community growing sites at Polmadie Community Garden and Toryglen Community Base Garden. Through this funding Urban Roots will increase the growing area of these sites by 42 square metres, transforming this community garden into a food production market garden where nutrient dense, seasonal, culturally appropriate, and fresh locally grown produce will be available to the community, grown by the community.
• Woodlands Community Development Trust (£15,010.96) - The organisation applied for funding for three interconnected strands of activity: increasing the accessibility and productivity; improving community growing and educational facilities, and the development of an inclusive community food training venue. The funding will lead to a more inclusive and accessible growing spaces, increased community growing of organic, seasonal food and an increased capacity for delivering inclusive and accessible training related to organic gardening, food growing and climate issues.
• The Scottish Pantry Network (£49,999) - The pantry model is a social retail option with wrap around services including advice support, community cafes and growing spaces. The Scottish Pantry Network - based in Tollcross - is aware of its pantry members experiencing supply gaps with some staple items not always readily available. Therefore, this funding shall install commercial kitchen to specifically provide the pantries with a more consistent food option that also supports low food waste.
• Glasgow Community Food Markets (£24,717) - At present there is very limited access to fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish in Whiteinch and other areas of Glasgow already identified as food deserts. This results in limited healthy, affordable choices for people and unnecessary travel for people to access these out with their local environments. To address this Glasgow Community Food Markets aims to create a network of small, food markets for areas of the city where it's difficult to access healthy, affordable, and locally produced food.
• Park Villa Community Sports Hub (£37,000) - This award will allow the development of an area of wasteland within Park Villa Community Sports Hub in Govan, into a holistic, productive healthy food growing space. The Growing Space will be open and available to the community all year-round with education projects and engagement with two adjacent schools and the nursery. The growing space initiative will run parallel with a new community café development. It is hoped any excess food from the Growing Space can be used within the café, providing healthy food, and reducing food cost for all. The café and growing space will also be used as a teaching area with cooking and growing classes.
• Nan McKay Community Hall (£8,855.64) - This funding will support the expansion and improvement of the current food growing infrastructure to increase capacity three-fold by the addition of five substantial raised beds, six fruit trees and a poly tunnel containing a further two beds for protected crops. This will involve the improvement of an area that is currently overgrown and underutilised.
• Lambhill Stables (£4,814) - This project aims to improve and maintain the food growing space at the two-acre community garden to increase the produce available to volunteers and within the community café. This will be achieved through improvements to the water system and vegetable beds.
• YoMo (Young Movers Glasgow) (£20,290) - Will equip and install urban growing space located at The Base centre and pantry. The award will allow the purchase, installation and set-up of an allotment area for the community within the Glenavon Estate in Maryhill, with a polytunnel, raised beds, container storage and green space suitable for "grow your own". This allotment area will not only allow local people to harvest produce, with support from staff and volunteers, but will also support the Community Pantry provision with fresh fruit and vegetables.
• The Hidden Gardens (£29,478) - The transformation of an under-utilised wasteland section of The Gardens in Pollokshields which is not currently accessible to the public or productive. This funding will create additional food growing space creating accessibility / connection with a new community learning / workshop space; use of which will produce and distribute more food locally, reduce waste and increase local people's food growing skills.
• Buddies (£47,120) - Buddies Clubs and Services was established to serve the needs of people (aged 5+) whose lives are affected by disability. Buddies aims to bring people together with peers for safe / meaningful social interaction to develop their capabilities, independence and skills. Through this funding, Buddies shall remove the present seven glass glasshouses at the rear of the building in Jordanhill. At present, these are made of glass and no longer fit for purpose, Buddies aim to have these renovated and brought up to an operation standard, bringing in the necessary utilities, water and electricity and relevant items to bring these to a workable area. Through GFSDF, Buddies will provide the opportunity for young people to be engaged in growing sustainable produce that could supplement food stocks in preparing snack, baking and cooking experiences. Buddies would also involve the local community for help and assistance.
• Cranhill Development Trust (£49,179.05) - Cranhill Market Garden will be developed within the grounds owned by Cranhill Development Trust. The project will grow produce with and for the local community, and will supply produce to: an on-site café; an on-site community shop; a community food programme activities including cooking clubs, community meals, etc; and a holiday programme which feeds up to 140 children per day during school holidays. Any surplus food will be distributed to local people for free through the on-site community fridge. The works required would include groundworks such as installation of perimeter fencing, levelling of land and removal of diseased trees. Additional infrastructure would include polycrub and materials for growing.
• The Chard Holding Group CIC (£49,999) - Located at Bellahouston Park, GFSDF will be used to renew and re-skin one 45m x 20metres Triple Span PolyTunnel to create 900 square metres of covered cropping growing space for local organic food. This funding will create a further 700 square metres of glasshouse growing space by excavating gravel and slab, bringing in soil and compost to create a highly valuable indoor growing space. This will be the first large scale glasshouse used for food production within Glasgow. In addition, funding will enable the creation of a farm stand. By scaling up production at Bellahouston the available surplus produce will increase, and this will allow the distribution of more produce to more people in need. The addition of the farm stand on site will also allow the organisation to have an outlet that can provide surplus produce for free or on a donation basis.
• Denmilne Action Group (£49,999) -The grant award will be used to have the growing space in Easterhouse landscaped and install raised beds to improve the accessibility for elderly residents and those with mobility issues. Denmilne Action Group will also purchase and have installed an insulated garden room which can be used as an office/meeting space to bring the community together and where the group can keep information on other important services residents can access such as housing and energy support, welfare rights information and GCC services.
• Petershill Allotments (£48,450) - Petershill Allotments shall use the GFSDF to assist and support local people opportunity who have both and interest and curiosity about growing healthy organic food in a space that has a history of sustaining local residents. The improvement will secure the site through installation of a fence to support safe use that suits all future growers and access to all. Also, the GFSDF will allow the repair and refurbishment of the community hut. Again, such improvements will support the opportunity for people to grow food as part of wellbeing and supporting the environmental aims towards sustainability and climate improvement.

Councillor Angus Millar, City Convener for Climate at Glasgow City Council, said: "Transforming the way food is produced and consumed is essential for reducing environmental damage, climate impacts and addressing hunger and poverty. Our innovative and locally-tailored food system fund is another part of our whole systems approach for a healthier, more sustainable city and planet."

Councillor Elaine McSporran, chair of the Environment and Liveable Neighbourhoods Committee and Food Plan Lead at Glasgow City Council, said: "By funding local community groups across the city to identify the right innovations in the right place, we are ensuring the right kind of impact. The range of 17 projects spans the city in its spread and ambition - from supporting more local markets to projects involving children with disabilities in food growing this funding will be transformative."