Written by Sue O’Neill-Berest, Cyrenians Food Education Manager.
Cyrenians work across Scotland to tackle the consequences of homelessness. They recognise that there are numerous obstacles to homelessness and that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to supporting people toward more positive and stable futures.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Edinburgh supports three Cyrenians initiatives in the city. Each of these sits within the Good Food Programme. Fareshare is a food redistribution project providing surplus food from the food industry to around 20,000 individuals and families a week. Flavour & Haver Cook School provides support for people on low incomes to budget, plan, and cook low-cost nutritious meals. Cyrenians run community pantries, which are a dignified alternative to food banks providing families with nutritious food at a minimal cost.
Cyrenians are also involved in a lottery-funded UK-wide project with the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership (BHFP). The team has been collaborating with Brighton & Hove Partnership and Fareshare to create dehydrated vegetables and fruit in a new piece of kit named Dora the Dehydrator. BHFP has developed, tested, and refined processing of vegetables close to ending up in landfills and dehydrating them.
The UKSPF-funded Cook School is right next door to FareShare and therefore able to intercept vegetables at source before they end up in the compost bin. FareShare works hard to distribute excess vegetables, but due to the sheer volume and how they are packaged, some deteriorate before they can redistribute them. With BHFP guidance and partnership funding the team was able to buy a dehydrator and get it up and running.
The UKSPF-funded Cook School is right next door to FareShare and therefore able to intercept vegetables at source before they end up in the compost bin. FareShare works hard to distribute excess vegetables, but due to the sheer volume and how they are packaged, some deteriorate before they can redistribute them. With BHFP guidance and partnership funding the team was able to buy a dehydrator and get it up and running.
The project now has weekly chop and chat sessions to fill up Dora the Dehydrator and vacuum pack previously dehydrated vegetables and fruit. Volunteers gain new and innovative skills; engage in meaningful activity in their local community; chat with others; have a meal together and take some food home. The dehydrated vegetables are then used for their slow cooker sessions and there are plans to make them available to the pantries running across Edinburgh, the Lothians, and Borders as stew and/or soup packs.
Dehydrators are incredibly useful in preserving food long past their shelf life. Creating delicious snacks, soups, and stews whilst minimising food waste by using surplus vegetables. This not only helps in reducing food waste but also contributes to the broader goal of reducing the environmental impact of surplus food. Fresh fruit and vegetables are expensive and not always made available in food parcels. The team is looking at whether this could be a potential solution to increase the micronutrient content of food parcels.
Last year the project created mixed fruit packs that will be used during breakfast week in their upcoming 6-week cooking classes for the granola that class participants make. They have also been using their dried cherry tomatoes in frittatas for their lunch club at Heart of Newhaven and in turkey curry that will served at the Bethany Welcome hub.
The team said the knowledge, expertise, and support that partnerships and funders have given us have been invaluable in running this project. It's a testament to the importance of collaboration between experienced partners, allowing a streamlined process with success in achieving our goals.
Want to know more about UKSPF funded Edinburgh projects? Visit our UKSPF webpage.
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