Join Feeding Liverpool and Liverpool Food Growers Network to network and find out how your organisation can establish a community food growing project

This afternoon session will be an opportunity for community food spaces (food pantries, food hubs, community markets) across the Liverpool City Region to network, meet community growers, and find out how they can establish and develop their own community food growing projects.

We welcome organisations who are also interested in growing herb and flower gardens for their community, and anyone with growing experience who would like to support these organisations.

Refreshments and a light plant-based lunch will be provided by Eat Up Gud.

You will hear from speakers from Kensington Fields Community Association, Grow-Wellbeing and Alchemic Kitchen talking about their experiences of setting up and running community growing projects across the region.

There will also be discussion time focusing on the following topics:

• Engaging the Public Sector on Land Access
• How can you integrate wellbeing with food growing into Health and Social Care
• Distributing the food you grow
• Evidencing your impact
• So you want to set up a food growing project

Who: Community Food Spaces, Community Growers and anyone interested in this topic
When: 12:30pm – 3pm, Wednesday 21st June
Where: Kensington Fields Social Club, 24 Hall Lane, L7 8TQ
How: Register via Eventbrite

For more information, please contact:
Elena Vacca, Feeding Liverpool Project Manager on [email protected]
Minna Alanko-Falola, Liverpool Food Growers Network Chair on [email protected]

Register via Eventbrite here

Feeding Liverpool is the City of Liverpool’s Food Alliance, connecting and equipping people and organisations to work towards good food for all. Building on our work since 2015 tackling hunger and food insecurity, Feeding Liverpool is developing and driving forward Liverpool’s Good Food Plan in partnership with communities and organisations across the city.

Liverpool Food Growers Network supports food growing projects across the Liverpool city region. Their aim is to increase the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables grown by communities ensuring fair access to all. They believe that community food growing can have a significant, positive impact on our communities and can make our city a fairer, greener and more sustainable place to live and thrive.

Tuesday 9th May 1:30-3:30pm

Feeding Liverpool, in partnership with St Andrews Community Network and Imagine If, are hosting a strategic conversation about the long-term sustainability and direction of emergency and community food provision in the region.

The aim of this initial conversation is to identify options for a more coordinated approach to food supplies and food provision in the months and years ahead, and to develop a working group to explore the feasibility of these options in greater depth.

We would like for all who attend to actively participate in this discussion, and we may ask you to prepare thoughts and ideas on this topic beforehand.

The discussion will take place at Frontline Centre,147 Lawrence Road, Wavertree, Liverpool L15 3HA.

If you are interested and able to attend this conversation please contact Gentian on [email protected].

Since 2021 we’ve been listening to people across Liverpool as they have answered this question: “What does Good Food mean to you?”

For many, it means eating our cultural food.

We’ve also heard how the traditions surrounding cultural food are important to our wellbeing through our sense of shared identity, community, and heritage.

This year, working with local photographer Emma Case and community groups across Liverpool, through photographs and interviews, we’ve began building a collection of food stories.

Join us at The Black-E, Saturday 20th May from 12pm to 3pm, for Good Food; Our Food, the launch of a travelling exhibition of photographs and stories celebrating the relationship between food, culture, identity, and how important this is for our wellbeing.

 

What to expect:

• Drop-in anytime
• Visit the exhibition
• Hear food stories
• Meet your neighbours
• Eat delicious traditional food showcased by community groups
• Watch a Ukrainian MasterChef demonstration
• Take part in arts and crafts for the family
• Find out what’s next for Good Food; Our Food and how you and your community can participate

 

Register to attend via Eventbrite here

 

We are grateful for the support of our project funders Torus Foundation and National Lottery Community Fund, and our project partners Merseyside Polonia for making Good Food; Our Food possible.

The Healthy Start Scheme is a means-tested NHS benefit for pregnant women and low-income families with children under 4. It provides access to good food: fruit, vegetables, milk and vitamins which are important to give children the best start in life.

In Liverpool only 65% of eligible pregnant women and parents/carers take up the scheme – meaning thousands of low income households are missing out on this vital support.

It is important we increase awareness of the scheme and support families to access this benefit.

 

Feeding Liverpool are offering free introductory training to The Healthy Start Scheme, with trainees becoming Healthy Start Community Champions, able to promote the scheme in their communities.

This training is aimed at people in Liverpool who support pregnant women and parents/carers with young children aged 0–4 years, including:

• Voluntary sector volunteers or staff members – including organisations that support families through the Holidays Activities and Food Programme

• Children centre staff, health-care related workers, and wellbeing professionals

It is suitable for people who have little or no knowledge of the Healthy Start scheme or would appreciate refresher training given the digitalisation changes in 2022.

 

Through the session you will learn:

• What is the Healthy Start Scheme

• Who is eligible for the scheme

• How the digitalisation of the scheme may impact those you support

• What being a Healthy Start Community Champion means for you

Healthy Start Community Champions will be provided with promotional materials to advertise the scheme within their organisation.

 

Online via Zoom: Thursday 27th April 10:00am to 11:00am.

This training will be led by Annette James from Feeding Liverpool.

Register to attend online here.

 

In-Person: Wednesday 3rd May 10am to 11:30am.

This training will be led by Annette James from Feeding Liverpool at St George’s Church, Heyworth Street, Everton, Liverpool L5 3QG.

Register to attend in-person here.

Those interested will only need to attend one of these sessions.

 

Please do share this training opportunity with anyone within your organisation or network who you think will benefit.

For more information, please contact Gentian on [email protected]

With grateful thanks to Merseyside Play Action Council and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital for funding this training.

Feeding Liverpool are inviting organisations in Liverpool providing emergency and community food support to join us at our next quarterly emergency food providers network gathering. We will bring together organisations to listen, learn, share and make connections, as we work towards creating a city where everyone can eat good food

You will hear from emergency food providers and learn about their organisations, their success and any challenges they are facing. There will be an opportunity to share your experiences, and ask questions too.

This session will be focusing on the topic of food supplies across the city, where there have been challenges and successes, and we will be facilitating an information sharing exercise on Good Food suppliers.

We would encourage each organisation providing emergency or community food support to send a representative to this session.

Refreshments will be provided. Please email [email protected] with any dietary requirements.

 

Who: Organisations providing emergency and community food in the City of Liverpool

When: 1:30pm to 3:30pm, Monday 27th March 2023

Where: Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BT

 

If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Graham on [email protected].

 

Register to attend via Eventbrite here

We are inviting organisations in Liverpool providing emergency food support and community food support to join us at our next quarterly emergency food providers network gathering. The session will bring together organisations to listen, learn, share and make connections, as we work towards creating a city where everyone can eat good food.

At this session we will be joined by Lydia Hayes, Professor of Labour Rights, University of Liverpool and member of LATAN (Liverpool Access to Advice Network). Lydia will give a practical briefing on employment rights and in-work poverty, and how groups can best support those they serve.

You will also hear from three emergency food providers and learn about their organisations, their success and any challenges they are facing. There will be an opportunity to share your experiences, and ask questions too.

Increasingly, people using emergency food provision are in employment. Many working people have low levels of awareness of their rights at work. This, together with problems associated with insecure hours or irregular earnings and fear of being bullied by managers, means that people often don’t know how to realise the benefits of employment rights to which they are entitled.

Harsher welfare rules are expected early in 2023 that will require benefit claimants working up to 15 hours a week to increase their earnings. The cost of living crisis makes it essential that individual rights at work are realised.

The briefing will help you to open up conversations about in-work poverty, minimum employment standards, and find out how people can access help and support.

We would encourage each organisation providing emergency food support or community food support to send a representative to this session.

Lunch will be provided. Please email [email protected] with any dietary requirements.

Who: Organisations providing emergency food and community food in the City of Liverpool
When: 12pm to 2:30pm, Tuesday 17th January 2023
Where: Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BT

If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Graham on [email protected].

Register to attend here

We are inviting organisations in Liverpool to join us for our latest Community Food Network Gathering; Community Cooking Conversations.

This session will bring together Good Food organisations to listen, learn, share and make connections with others, focusing on the theme of Community Cooking.

By community cooking we mean any project where groups meet to cook meals together or projects involving cooking meals for the community, this could look like cooking classes, community meals, a community kitchen, lunch clubs, or slow cooker projects for example.

The session will include a plant-based lunch, networking opportunities, a live cooking demonstration, and practical advice about how to setup and sustain your community cooking project from professionals in the field.

Speakers

• Chef Leigh Menzie from Kirkdale Community Kitchen
• Prof Bryce Evans from Liverpool Hope University talking about The Solidarity Model of Community Kitchens
• Dr Hayley Tait from Vinny’s Kitchen, Community Plant-based Cook School
• Keenan Humble from Alchemic Kitchen, a Feedback project

Who: Organisations in Liverpool wishing to setup a community cooking project, learn best practice for how to sustain their project, are running successful projects, or anyone interested in this topic.

When: 11:00am – 2:30pm, Tuesday 18th October 2022

Where:  Kirkdale Community Kitchen, 211 Walton Road, Liverpool, L4 4AJ

Register to attend on Eventbrite here.

For more information, please email Jennifer Graham, Feeding Liverpool’s Good Food Programme Network Coordinator on [email protected]