GROWING LOCALLY Edinburgh’s Food Growing Strategy 2021 - 2026 Contents Contents ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... 2 Foreword ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Food Growing in Edinburgh: Key Facts .................................................................................................... 8 Vision and Objectives ............................................................................................................................... 10 Objective 1: Grow more food in Edinburgh ............................................................................................ 12 Objective 2: Increase consumption of locally grown food .................................................................... 17 Objective 3: Increase awareness and engagement ................................................................................ 21 Delivering the strategy ............................................................................................................................. 23 Executive Summary ‘Growing Locally’ is Edinburgh’s first food growing strategy. It is part of the Council’s Increase consumption of broader approach to recovery from the locally grown food. We will pandemic and meeting our key priorities to support Edinburgh’s green recovery by eradicate poverty, achieve net zero encouraging new markets and emissions, and work for a fairer, more opportunities for local food growers and inclusive city. sellers. We will do this in ways that promote a more sustainable local The strategy aims to support citizens and economy, shortening supply chains and communities to play a part in meeting encouraging reuse and recycling. We will these challenges. It encourages greater address food poverty and insecurity by participation in food growing, promotes building community resilience, including healthy and sustainable food and supports income resilience and ensure systems for local businesses to thrive. Through this provision of emergency food are document and its implementation by the coordinated, while maintaining dignity and Council and partners our vision is for: respect. Increase awareness of Edinburgh to be a city with a Figure 1: The three objectives of Edinburgh’s Food vibrant, thriving and Growing Strategy and engagement in sustainable local food economy, sustainable food across the Through the implementation of this where residents, community city. We will increase awareness of strategy we will: sustainable food and its benefits and groups and local business can access healthy, sustainable food encourage more people to become locally, and are able to Grow more food in involved in food growing and local food projects. We will provide support, where grow more food across a Edinburgh: We will find diverse range of sites necessary, for community groups to innovative ways to increase the participate and benefit from local food within the city. land available for food growing, including growing opportunities. We will increase increasing allotment provision and land for ‘Growing Locally’ is a city-wide strategy awareness of working with nature through community growing. We will identify new developed in collaboration with the Edible growing, improving our soils and providing potential areas for growing and ensure we Edinburgh partnership, Transition skills for community groups and schools to grow sustainably, in ways that protect and Edinburgh and Edinburgh Community benefit from sustainable growing. We will enhance our biodiversity and habitats. Food. develop support mechanisms and ways to 2 connect growers and buyers that allows the development of sustainable green them to communicate with each other and spaces and improving biodiversity. seek the support and training they need. Improve place-making, helping to Benefits of local food promote the Council’s principle of ’20-minute neighbourhoods’ growing Support local businesses to thrive The benefits of achieving these outcomes and grow through the growing and are clear. Food growing in all its forms can selling of local food. deliver many lasting benefits for individuals Delivering our vision will be challenging, and communities. It can: but we can achieve it if we work together, Support local, substantiable food reaping the benefits and monitoring our supply and consumption. progress to ensure we are delivering a truly sustainable food city. Improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of people and families across the city, reducing isolation and providing a means of bringing people together. Help people by improving access to fresh locally grown fruit and vegetables, and helping people to enjoy good quality, healthy food. Encourage people to learn new skills and build a sense of pride and self-esteem. Reduce food waste and the carbon emissions associated with the growing, transport and selling of food. Enhance the quality of the city’s lived environment by encouraging 3 Foreword These are key priorities for the Council and This strategy is about choice. It’s about The overarching the city as well as recovering economically giving families greater information about ambition of the and socially from COVID-19. healthy and sustainable food, it’s about Council is to ensure supporting local businesses to continue to everyone benefits Growing Locally, Edinburgh’s food growing flourish and it’s about how the City of from Edinburgh’s strategy represents a major development Edinburgh Council can help create the success. As a for Edinburgh, bringing together for the first right conditions for these activities to Council, on behalf of the city, we have also time our proposed approach to thrive. formally declared a climate emergency and encouraging more local production, more committed to becoming carbon neutral by sustainable management of food growing This will not be achieved by the City of 2030. and perhaps most importantly of all, an Edinburgh Council alone but by us working ongoing discussion as a city about what a together through strong existing Through the development of our Net Zero diverse and vibrant food economy looks partnerships and with the residents of 2030 Strategy and End Poverty Delivery like. Scotland’s capital. Plan the council is working towards making the changes required to transition to a We are encouraged by the work already My thanks go to the Council partners carbon neutral economy and to do so in a carried out by the Council, our partners involved for their participation in this way that is fair to all including those in this and our growing communities and this strategy, and to the community groups, city who experience poverty. strategy will look to enhance and extend growers and interested parties who that good work throughout the city. participated in the development of the The last year has seen challenges we document. have not faced before following the Throughout the engagement process to coronavirus outbreak and the need for a develop this strategy local growers and green recovery from it. citizens have been at the forefront of how Councillor George Gordon we have shaped our approach. We have As well as reducing our emissions, we are City of Edinburgh Council identified key areas for action which we will Sustainability Champion committed to ending poverty in the city by now take forward and identified the wider 2030 and ensuring well-being and socio-economic benefits such action Chair, Edible Edinburgh equalities are enhanced for all in the city. brings. Introduction ‘Growing Locally’ is Edinburgh’s first food Food growing has an important part to play and community organisations and growing strategy and is a core plank of the in making sure we meet those aims. We meetings with key stakeholders. Council’s broader approach to recovery know that the growing of food in Edible Edinburgh held a short series of from the pandemic and meeting our key communities is good for place making and well attended Business Breakfasts in 2019 priorities to end poverty, become a net bringing people together, improves and 2020, focusing on how food and zero city, and ensure wellbeing and people’s health and wellbeing, helps related businesses can contribute to equalities are enhanced for all. people to enjoy good quality, healthy and making Edinburgh a sustainable food city, local food, learn new skills, build new These priorities are set out in the three- including through local food production and relationships, improve biodiversity, and distribution. year Council Business Plan: Our Future mitigate the effects of climate change in a Council, Our Future City, and represent city. Consultation on the draft strategy was an ambitious programme of work designed launched December 2020 and ran for a 6- to ensure that Edinburgh’s recovery meets It is for all these reason that this strategy week period. Over a hundred responses the needs and aspirations of its citizens. aims to further develop opportunities for were received from a range of individuals food growing in Edinburgh, supporting and organisations, including