Challenge Poverty Week

Challenge Poverty Week runs from 2nd to 8th October and aims to highlight the injustice of poverty in Scotland and to show that collective action based on justice and compassion can create solutions.

One of the main themes this year is to “ensure people have dignified access to good quality, healthy and sustainable food”. Here a couple of projects run by Priority Areas congregations explain how they are tackling this in their own community.

Garthamlock and Craigend Parish Church

by Jillian Reilly

Our community garden is an inclusive and accessible space where the local community can grow fruit and vegetables and share in the harvest. We have grown pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes, courgettes, beans, broccoli, lettuce, blueberries, apples, and strawberries.

We have various adult support groups who have taken an interest in the garden for their health and wellbeing. A bonus result of their time in the garden is being able to take home what they have grown, all organic and free.

Our Busy Bees Nature and Gardening kids club is promoting healthy eating in addition to learning about nature and our environment. They recently picked lettuces to take home to their families and even tried berries straight from our fruit bushes.

We hope to grow relationships in our garden space in addition to produce in the garden and hope that it will help more of our community in the future.

Gorbals Parish Church

by Catriona Milligan

Our building is open every day and the main foyer area is also a café/kitchen space. We offer a community fridge and freezer which anyone can help themselves to for free. They’re stocked with surplus fruit and veg from the supermarket across the road and we also bake Gorbals Loaves from donated and subsidised Scottish organic flour.

We have a group of volunteers who cook lunch twice a week starting with ingredients from the fridge. We always set extra places at the table so anyone is welcome to turn up and leftovers are placed in the fridge as nutritious ready meals for anyone who wants them.

Some of the things people in the community have told us include: “that bread is the best I’ve ever tasted it’s because you bake love into it” and “is this table set for us? It’s like Christmas! I could just stretch out along it!”.

#ChallengePoverty #CPW23