Engaging in Food Futures, roles and responsibilities of Food Futures Reps
Submitted by rob on Thu, 10/07/2008 - 21:02
It was recognised that unless an organisation is working on the ground, it can be difficult to know about, and understand the functioning of the invisible structures / collaborations that operate between individuals and groups on a daily basis, and help to weave together local communities. It was expressed that the Food and Wellbeing group could play an important role in mapping and understanding these structures. It was also thought that the group could play an important role in helping strategic organisations like Food Futures understand how these structures and collaborations
A discussion took place about the structure of Food Futures, and how members of the Food and Wellbeing group can participate in it. The group is already represented at the board level (as discussed above) and in the steering group. However, there are several sub-groups of Food Futures, such as the Growing Food sub-group for example, which are open for participation. The Food and Wellbeing group can play a strong role in representing the community and voluntary sector, and influencing Food Futures, by acting as a forum within which representatives of the FF board and subgroups can share information, and co-ordinate.
A discussion took place about the Food Futures small grants schemes, and it was expressed that although the fund is a good thing, the way in which the money is distributed is haphazard, in that it does not provide structured support to those that are already working on the ground / on the frontline.
Further discussion was held around the resent Food Futures Collaborative Commissioning Programme. It was acknowledged that this was an experimental project, which presented certain challenges to participating groups. The question was asked, “how can the new Food and Wellbeing group be useful to the organisations participating in the Collaborative Programme?”. A decision was made to address this question, and invite participants from these groups to future meetings.
It was recognised that unless an organisation is working on the ground, it can be difficult to know about, and understand the functioning of the invisible structures / collaborations that operate between individuals and groups on a daily basis, and help to weave together local communities. It was expressed that the Food and Wellbeing group could play an important role in mapping and understanding these structures. It was also thought that the group could play an important role in helping strategic organisations like Food Futures understand how these structures and collaborations
A discussion took place about the structure of Food Futures, and how members of the Food and Wellbeing group can participate in it. The group is already represented at the board level (as discussed above) and in the steering group. However, there are several sub-groups of Food Futures, such as the Growing Food sub-group for example, which are open for participation. The Food and Wellbeing group can play a strong role in representing the community and voluntary sector, and influencing Food Futures, by acting as a forum within which representatives of the FF board and subgroups can share information, and co-ordinate.
A decision was made to have Food and Wellbeing representatives appointed to each of the FF sub-groups.
It was also acknowledged that it is not always easy for workers to be present at FF sub-group meetings, due to clashes, and other priorities. The Food and Wellbeing group can potentially play an additional supportive role, by co-ordinating participation in FF sub-group meetings, by ensuring that if a representative is not able to attend, then someone else can cover them.
