CAMPAIGNERS are calling for a grassroots food revolution which will turn disused and derelict land into hundreds of community gardens.

They say that the creation of growing spaces on abandoned ground in Glasgow could make fresh produce available to all and help eradicate food poverty, diet-related ill-health and social dislocation.

A coalition of public, private and voluntary sector organisations have joined together to create a Glasgow Food Charter which aims to build on the success of the 16 existing community gardens.

Professor Deirdre Shaw, whose specialism is ethical consumerism, is one of a team of researchers at the University of Glasgow who spent six months at community gardens in the most deprived areas of the city, including the Gorbals, Gallowgate, Lambhill and Polmadie.

They concluded that the 16 existing community gardens throughout the city are having a positive impact on health and wellbeing of those who participate in them - but that many more are needed to achieve positive change.

"There is lots of amazing grassroots activity in the city, but community gardens are not connected with each other," Ms Shaw said. "We need more joined-up thinking.

"Glasgow is in the Sustainable Food Cities network, but that has to mean something. There is a huge agenda around sustainability, which should be seriously addressing issues of food poverty, food waste and local food economies. Community gardens have a big part to play in that.”

The community garden plan has already proved a massive success in other cities. In Cuba, a move away from imports as a result of the withdrawal of Soviet aid saw an increasing number of urban plots in Havana handed over to such projects.

The so-called "urban agriculture" scheme was so successful that within just a few years there were more than 8,000 urban farms and community gardens being run by 30,000 people.

Unlike allotments, which are individually owned, Ms Shaw believes community gardens, which are shared plots, help develop much more than just gardening skills.

She said: “They encourage people to interact and negotiate with each other, creating social connections and enhancing wellbeing. Growing food is the lynchpin for bringing people of different backgrounds together, including minority groups, migrants and asylum seekers.

“Farmers’ markets are all very well, but they tend to attract the affluent middle classes and are off-putting for poor people. Our charter will help deliver good food for all.”

The Glasgow Food Charter, whose manifesto is entitled Good Food For All, is the brainchild of the newly-formed Glasgow Food Policy Partnership, comprising Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Local Food Network, the Glasgow Centre for Population Health, NHS Greater

Glasgow, Soil Association Scotland, Nourish Scotland and the University of Glasgow.

They have collaborated with a wide range of people to agree their vision of good food for the city, and to define the actions needed to realise it.

They have also created an interactive map of Glasgow to plot the 16 existing community gardens.

The launch of the Glasgow Food Charter takes place during the city’s first The Only Way is Ethics festival, which starts tomorrow and runs until December 6.

"We hope our map will help people link up with each other and to establish many more gardens, so creating a bigger momentum for real change,” Ms Shaw said.

Ms Shaw also pointed out that Glasgow is a particularly pertinent case, as it has the highest density of unused and derelict land in Scotland as well as the shortest life expectancy rates in the UK.

The bulk of its 1300 hectares of vacant and derelict land, comprising 925 individual sites, is in the most deprived areas. This could be used to establish community gardens.

But there are problems with ambiguities around leases for using the land, and a requirement from Glasgow City Properties for income from commercial rent by building on wasteland. All of this creates uncertainty. Not knowing how long a piece of land will be available for gardening can discourage community involvement.

Only two gardens on the Good Food For All map have security of ownership."It's very difficult to know who owns the land, and how long it will be available for," said Ms Shaw. "Getting access to the land is the greatest challenge."

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