Green for grow in Kirkintilloch
Kirkintilloch Health and Care Centre. Local Food Co-op marking their 1st Birthday 2.3.11 Picture by Jamie Forbes
HOMEGROWN heroes have helped thousands of people in Kirkintilloch get their tastebuds tingling with fresh fruit and veg.
East Dunbartonshire’s Food Co-op has just celebrated its first anniverary and it’s growing from strength to strength.
Hillhead Community Centre was home to the first food co-op and since then two more have been launched in Hillhead Resource Centre and Kirkintilloch Health and Care Centre.
An amazing 7,500 customers have flooded through the doors – spending £31,500 over the past year.
It was set up as a local partnership between East Dunbartonshire Community Health Partnership (CHP) and Hillhead Housing Association, offering people low-cost fruit and veg.
The co-op not only runs in the local community, it is operated by volunteers and supported by East Dunbartonshire Volunteer Centre, East Dunbartonshire Council and Community Food and Health Scotland.
By the end of January this year the 22 committed volunteers had collectively given 3,500 hours of their time to the project.
Kirsty Flannigan, health improvement practitioner for East Dunbartonshire CHP, said: “This project is all about ensuring local communities have access to good quality, fresh fruit and vegetables.”
She added: “It aims to improve the health of our local communities and in the long term to support Scotland’s goal in preventing ill-health from the major diseases such as cancer and heart disease.”
The food co-op accepts Healthy Start vouchers and operates from Hillhead Community Centre on Mondays between 10am and 1pm, Hillhead Resource Centre on Tuesdays from 1pm-3pm and in Kirkintilloch Health and Care Centre on Wednesdays, 10am to 1.30pm.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Kirsty (centre) is pictured with volunteers May MacIssac, William Wilson, Gerald Escreet and Ivor McClure. (K10308)
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Weather for Kirkintilloch
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 6 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
