Moo Food Project creates sense of ownership within community

Highland Councillors have applauded the outstanding efforts of a volunteer-led environmentally conscious community food project based in Muir Of Ord called ‘Moo Food’.

At the first meeting of the Council’s Communities and Place Committee, Members gave cross-party support to the efforts of Moo Food following a presentation by Founder Volunteer, Emma Whitham.

Committee Chair, Cllr Allan Henderson said: “Moo Food is a fantastic project which has created amazing benefits in a local community that could be applied Highland-wide. Councillors across the Highlands would welcome more information on how they can support the creation of Moo Food concepts in their local areas. 

"The new Committee and the new Communities and Place Service are keen to identify how the Council can support community growing of food and as part of the Council’s Highland Food Growing Strategy.

“We are extremely impressed with the ability of Moo Food to attract such a high level of volunteers and it’s great to see how the project works to the benefit of all ages in the community with schools, volunteers, businesses, private landowners and local people all working to a common goal.” 

With 3 members of part time staff, 30 volunteers (from the Board to community fridge volunteers, gardeners, cooks and a website ‘guru’) it has worked over the last 2 years with over 1,000 different people in the local community.

Emma Whitham explained: “Our mission is to inspire environmentally friendly living and to build community resilience by bringing people together to grow food, knowledge and confidence. We do this in 4 different ways through: growing, learning, reducing and eating.

“We are growing delicious, seasonal, chemical free food, and are also growing knowledge, resilience and learning. Learning is at the heart of everything we do. We are reducing our carbon footprint through promoting low carbon food choices and through reducing food waste and reducing poverty, inequality and social isolation. We are promoting the importance of eating local sustainable food and we are bringing people together to enjoy eating the delicious food that we are growing.”

She added: “Moo Food connects people to themselves, each other and to the natural environment. We are creating a pride in our place and in community resilience by putting on events, workshops and festivals through a culture of kindness compassion, support and creativity.”

Emma Whitham highlighted the creation of an ‘edible village’ with growing spaces in the community of Muir of Ord with 25 growing boxes throughout the village with year-round seasonal fruit, vegetables and herbs which the community are encouraged to help themselves to within the boxes. Pupils or Tarradale Primary school are also encouraged to grow food in a polytunnel hosted on their school grounds and a community orchard green space within the heart of the village has 50 fruit trees including Plum, Pear, Apple, Cherry and Hazel all planted with the community.

A community fridge was also created for sharing surplus food in the community to reduce food waste going to landfill. Excess food from the community growing boxes and orchard are put into the fridge; and people in the community who have grown a surplus amount or have bought too much; or local businesses can add also to the fridge. Partnership working with Tarradale Primary volunteers, and Muir of Ord Hall and Facilities Company which hosts the fridge on their land enables the Moor Project fridge to help tackle issues like food poverty removing the stigma for people who need food.

The Moo Foo Project is funded by Highland Council’s Carbon Clever, and Ward Discretionary Budgets, the Scottish Government Challenge Fund, The Pebble Trust and the Community Learning Exchange.
For further information on Mood Food visit: https://moofood.org/