• ECFI Home
• Site Map
• Useful Links
• About ECFI
  • Methodology
  • ECFI Background
  • Promotion
  • Provision
• Promos and Recipes
• Food Poverty
• Community Programme
  • Food Co-ops
  • Growing/Sourcing
• Children's Health
  • Happy Jack Project
  • Little Leithers

The Community Programme

The Community Programme is where the Edinburgh Community Food Initiative began back in 1996. The project was initially developed by a small group of local community activists who were involved in operating food co-ops across the city. ECFI was established to provide support for those co-ops, as well as to develop a greater number and range of food initiatives and to ensure they were health-focused.

Today there is a wide diversity of community food initiatives across Edinburgh, working to a range of approaches in a range of settings.

We support a wide variety of food co-ops, all very different. All of the food co-ops are members of ECFI though are autonomously constituted and are all run by volunteers.

In North Edinburgh, the Barri Grubb food project, isn´t strictly a food co-op but is a neighbourhood based food initiative that has for many years been providing affordable fresh produce as well as a huge range of other food activities in its local area. Its food co-op has a dedicated space within the Pilton Health Project and is open five days a week.

The Broomhouse Health Strategy Group, a long established local voluntary group, also open their food co-op five days a week. Operating from their shop-front they’ve instigated and have been involved in a wide range of health actions and food issues across their community for many years.

The other food co-ops tend to be in community and neighbourhood centres and open for one or two sessions a week, usually for two to four hours at a time. Churches also provide locations, as do some of the local Adult Resource centres.