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January 24, 2022
Knead your dough
A loaf of bread in a supermarket can cost less than £1. Sadly, the levels of food poverty in this country mean that these products fly off the shelf and while they may stave off hunger pangs, they provide little in the way of nutrients. But bread is also something that people become passionate about – where the flour comes from, how it is milled and how to bake tasty, nutritious bread. A growing network of community organisations in Fife is working to tackle what they see as a broken food system for bread. Flour to the People kneads your dough!
Crowd funder for Flour to the People
We want to take better flour to the people, and make bread that’s better for ourselves, our communities and the environment.
To do so, we want to expand Scotland The Bread’s community engagement projects, empowering communities to create, participate in and celebrate a more local and healthy flour and bread supply.
Our Aims
- More people have the opportunity to become active food citizens: understanding the origins of their daily loaf and possessing the skills to grow and bake better bread.
- More communities have access to Scotland The Bread’s nutritious flour and bread made with it, particularly areas with fewer resources.
- Communities enjoy new activities that promote social engagement and foster community spirit, such as harvest celebrations or the sharing of ‘solidarity loaves’.
- These communities are connected to and participate alongside a wider network of passionate scientists, farmers, millers and bakers to create a better flour and bread system.
Our Project
We support a growing network of community organisations to bring people together and strengthen skills to grow, harvest, thresh, mill and bake with local flours. Our work empowers local stakeholders to work alongside members of their community and connect people with the local flour movement across Scotland.
As the cost of food and fuel rises, there is a risk that people on low or insecure incomes will face even greater challenges to accessing the food they and their families need to stay well. The ‘Flour to the People’ project is a response to these concerns, and by empowering people to bake together, seeks to improve access to nutritious food and opportunities to build local and individual resilience. Alongside this, our ‘Soil to Slice’ programme provides communities with the unique chance to gain practical experience and skills to grow nutritious grains for breadmaking, a staple – but often neglected – part of our diet.
As issues of sustainability, health and the impact of the current food system become of increasing interest to government, schools and individuals alike, we feel that the opportunities for interactive learning will only make these projects more popular.