There is a lot happening in the lives of our Ambassadors - that's why we're introducing monthly challenges to help them do just one action a month towards the campaign for a healthier, fairer and more sustainable food system.

DECEMBER CHALLENGE: Invite your MSPs to Human Rights Day lunch! 

1. Introduce yourself as a constituent, and say that you have signed up as a Good Food Nation Ambassador, and tell them your motivations for joining the campaign for a healthier, fairer and more sustainable food system.  
2. Say you are interested in the Good Food Nation bill and the potential for changing the food system, that you want a food system that is good for people and the environment. 
3. Invite them to the event:

Celebrate Human Rights Day with the Scottish Food Coalition. We'll be sharing a meal at the Good Food Nation Table outside Parliament from 12.30pm – 1.30pm on December 10th (photo call at 1pm). 

Join us for a conversation about how we can move towards a future where everyone in Scotland has the right to food - access to nutritious food that has been produced with respect for workers and the environment. 

You can find their details and write to them through www.writetothem.com, or find details of your local MSP online. 

The purpose of doing this is so that your MSP knows about human rights day and the right to food and they have an opportunity to meet with Ambassadors and the Scottish Food Coalition and learn more about how they can support.  

JANUARY CHALLENGE: Grow Your Network!  

Begin creating a network of people interested in food in your community. Get in touch with existing food networks, food hubs, food banks, allotment societies, growers, breakfast clubs, and start building a network of local food activists. Try to convene one discussion with local activists, informing them about the potential for change through the Good Food Nation Bill, and ask if you can get in touch for help with the campaign next year. Make sure that if you are collecting people’s email addresses to contact them later, that you store them securely and do not share them with anyone else. 

a.    Share stories with these local food activists and members of your community and tell them why the GFN bill is an important piece of legislation that they can help shape. Talk to these networks about the inconsistencies in the food system, what is unjust and what needs to change. Ask them to share their food stories, or their worries or frustrations when it comes to food; you can begin sharing these on social media (with their permission) with the #ScottishFoodStories and #GoodFoodNation, tagging @scottishfoodcoalition. You can also send these to us, and we will keep track of them as well as potentially publishing some of them in our monthly newsletter. People’s stories will be important as part of the campaign around the Good Food Nation Bill, to push Scottish Government to make this new law as ambitious and transformational as possible.

The purpose of doing this is to start building local networks to raise awareness on the Good Food Nation Bill and the opportunity it offers for communities interested in changing the food system.    Gathering stories is an initial way of engaging with your local networks, and sharing stories is a good way to keep the conversation going about the need for change, and make sure that Scottish Government sees how many people care about food.
 


FEBRUARY CHALLENGE: Increase Visibility!

Talk with a business or community organisation and ask them to display the Good Food Nation Campaign sticker on their window or to wear a Good Food Nation badge. Take a picture with them and/or of the sticker and share on social media, or send us an email - we would love to feature it in our newsletter. Don’t forget to tag us @scottishfoodcoalition and use the hashtags  #ScottishFoodStories and #GoodFoodNation 

The purpose of doing this is to start to strike up a conversation with businesses and community organisations about their role in a Good Food Nation. The stickers and badges are a visual statement, which when displayed across Scotland will raise awareness of the campaign.

*Find more information and tips on the Monthly Challenges here: download this document

This past Saturday we held a reunion for our Ambassadors. The event included an update on the progress of the Good Food Nation Bill, and the fantastic consultation results (scroll down to read more). We also enjoyed some presentations from some of our Ambassadors on successful events, social media and press engagement. We used the rest of the session to explore the role of gathering stories and communicating them to journalists, policy-makers, businesses and members of the community. The session finished off with a chance to stretch our creative muscles, exploring different forms of communicating the Good Food Nation message via video, posters and poetry.

You can also download more comprehensive notes on the event here. ​