East Lothian Friendly Food Network

East Lothian Friendly Food Network (ELFFN) sits under the charity organsation the pennypit trust. It is governed by their group of directors. Our mission believes that every person in East Lothian should have access to healthy,affordable,and good nutritious food. This food should be local and sustainably sourced where possible. This partnership led initiative works closely together and aims to promote dignity in practice and harness people's voices to impact real change. By working in partnership to build strong relationships we can address food inequalities and tackle issues that affect our food system to make a difference for all who live in our community.

Background: In 2017 following a recommendation from an East Lothian Food Poverty report it recommened to form an East Lothian food alliance and collaborate with a number of stakeholders to address recommendations from the report. In 2018 the food alliance was formed and early in the development the name was changed to the East Lothian Friendly Food Network. There was a pause on developments during COVID and in 2021 the council invested in a 3 year food development plan. Currently there are nearly 50 members and we have created the good food charter. 

What we do

ELFFN was awarded over £106k of funding from the council to tackle the cost of living crisis (22-23). £55k was offered to members in small grants, £26k to East Lothian Food Bank and £27k to EL Fareshare Hub to buy additional stock.

we have developed a good food charter and we have 7 key goals - These goals align with the 6 key themes of Sustainable food places. The charter was adopted into the council library in June 2022.

ELFFN have formed a working group for lived experience called working for change collective (WFCC). The group is fairly new and working alongside a number of local people to impact real change. 


Areas of expertise

Partnership & Collaboration

Food Vision & Action Plan

Awareness and Engagement

Tackling Food Poverty

Promoting Healthy Eating

Climate & Nature Friendly Food

My background is a community nutritionist and I have an extensive knowledge of community partnerships and networking. We have developed a number of nutrition resources that you can access from reciepts, cooking demonstrations and early years nutrition.