Scottish Alliance for Food

A critical aspect of the investment in SCAF is supporting our community in turning big ideas into tangible projects. For this reason, the SCAF leadership team is always seeking ideas on how to support members in doing just that. At the beginning of September, Michael Pierre Johnson facilitated two workshops to support pump-priming awardees in mapping growth and development for their food research and collaborations, and in creating an action plan to move projects forward. Using Michael’s Creative Growth Model, participants mapped network growth, explored areas for knowledge exchange and community engagement, and identified potential collaborators and beneficiaries relevant to their projects. The workshop highlighted key aspects of SCAF’s vision: the value of creating practical opportunities for collaborative, cross-disciplinary research. SCAF team members Laura Haag and Kate Holmes also undertook facilitator training with Michael, which will help them utilise the model and techniques in the future to support further SCAF member projects and drive further cross-disciplinary research. If this is something you would be interested in, whether or not you have received pump-priming support, please let the SCAF team know by emailing us at the usual address. 

Another critical aspect of building better collaboration is gaining a clear understanding of who is in our network and what their capabilities are. Members can support this by joining the SCAF Member Map, which helps visualise the network, facilitates knowledge exchange, and identifies future collaborations. Add your profile to the map here.  

We gained first-hand insight into how such a collaboration can be implemented, as demonstrated by the September SCAF webinar: Dr Ada Garcia and Lydia Stewart introduced the design-based, participatory arts methodology used to engage communities in generating rich, intersectional insights into the complexities of their local food systems – as part of the UKRI-funded project Community food markets as a driver for equitable, sustainable food systems. You can watch the recording here: Community Food Co-Created Markets. This methodology was also showcased during the unconference at our recent Annual Event. 

Finally, September is a time for annual reports, change, and good news. 

We submitted our annual report to our funder, the Scottish Funding Council, this month. Writing the report is a deeply reflective activity rooted in transparency, evaluation, and strategic alignment. Thank you to all members who provided quotations explaining the value of SCAF to them, as well as what the investment has unlocked in terms of grants and proposals, of course, but also human connections. Our report reiterates our commitment to meaningful, measurable impact across Scotland’s food landscape, spanning research, policy, and industry. 

This was also SCAF project manager Laura Haag's final major task as she stepped down in September to go on maternity leave, welcoming Hannah Wylie as her cover. 

Hannah said: “I’ve joined the team at an exciting time, as we enter the final year of SCAF. I am excited work with partners across the sector to support SCAF’s interdisciplinary research across the Scottish food landscape. I look forward to contributing to the team and helping advance this important work.” 

To mark International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on 29th September, SCAF member Evie Nikokavoura wrote a special guest blog for the Scottish Funding Council. Evie discussed cosmetic standards for fresh produce, environmental impact, and the factors feeding into consumer decision-making.

Lastly, SCAF began collecting member input to submit a collective response to the Scottish Government Price Cap Consultation. This consultation concerns the proposed introduction of legal price caps on essential food items sold by large supermarket chains, both in stores and online. We invite all SCAF members to contribute to the collective document here. 

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First published: 6 October 2026