Footprints Women’s Centre Building a Transition Community, Belfast

Established in 1991, Footprints Women’s Centre is located in the Colin neighbourhood of Belfast and works within a community development context delivering programmes and services to women and children across five key areas of activity; Support, Children’s Services, Training and Education, Healthy Living and Social Enterprise. 

 

Background to the project

Footprints Women’s Centre works actively on issues relating to food poverty, diet and nutrition.  They founded a local Food Policy Initiative which established the basis of the neighbourhood strategy towards tackling health inequalities in relation to diet, nutrition and physical activity. The Footprints Healthy Living Project provides a range of programmes including social, recreational, training and accredited courses, aimed at developing a skills and a knowledge base around nutrition, diet, cooking and budgeting.

These programmes have supported and encouraged local women to articulate their concerns around access to quality food supplies within the neighbourhood and also how poverty impacts on health. The group has closely followed the rise in food prices and predicted world trends for food supplies.

Overview of the Project

Footprints is developing a Transition Community Initiative which will be another distinct area of work within the Healthy Living Project, as part of the group’s ongoing endeavors to influence change within the Colin community, tackling health inequalities.

The Building a Transition Community Initiative oversees the development of the grounds at Footprints Women’s Centre and offers food growing training to local residents who will be encouraged to volunteer in the garden. A local gardener has been hired and oversees the development and training of the volunteers. The project will grow fruit and vegetables within the grounds of Footprints Women’s Centre and this produce will be used within the Footprints Catering Services. Any supplies surplus to requirements will be used in schools in the neighbourhood. Skills learned by the volunteers will also be transferred to their gardens at home throughout the Colin neighbourhood.  The aim is also to demonstrate how participation in this project will increase and improve the physical activity levels and mental wellbeing of residents.

 

Objectives of the Project include

• The formation of a Transition Community Initiative to inspire local residents to influence change and to tackle health inequalities within their community through healthy eating
• To communicate vision of project to local community organisations, residents and schools
• The development of the grounds within Footprints Women’s Centre for fruit, vegetables and herbs
• To encourage the participation of volunteers and involvement of children
• To provide food growing training and demonstrations for local volunteers
• To employ a gardener to oversee the development of the grounds and to mentor volunteers
• For the catering service in the centre to use supplies grown in the grounds of Footprints
• To encourage volunteers to expand food growing to their homes in the local area
• Improvements to physical health and mental well being of participants

 

For more information please contact: Eileen Wilson at eileen@footprintswomenscentre.com. www.footprintswomenscentre.org.