CFINE: Community Food Initiative North East

Charity registered in Scotland SC037833

CFINE improves health and well-being and the environment, tackles poverty and builds resilience through a range of support and services for and with disadvantaged, vulnerable, low-income individuals, families and communities in NE Scotland.


Current opportunities

Support to local food co-ops and providing a fresh fruit service to schools. Opportunities to assist in customer service at food co-op base, community outlets and through Foodbank Base. Good support is provided to all volunteers. Induction and start up training. All volunteer help is greatly appreciated For further information please contact: e-mail: volunteersupport@cfine.org Tel.: 01224 596156

Volunteers are always welcome at CFINE and we can offer a range of opportunities tailored to suit each individual. Volunteering is about giving - time, ideas, experience, expertise - but it is also about receiving. For example, you will grow in confidence, learn new skills, meet people and can develop social networks and you will feel good contributing to your community, to tackling vulnerability and disadvantage. Volunteers can be involved in a range of ways: - Warehouse duties - Stock control - Fruit & veg packing - Selling at community food outlets - Weekend events, e.g. galas & food fairs - Financial management and administration - Customer care, serving at the food bank - Data management - Marketing and PR - Driving Good support is provided to all volunteers. Induction and start up training. All volunteer help is greatly appreciated. For further details please contact us at: e-mail: e-mail: volunteersupport@cfine.org Tel.: 01224 596156

We would like volunteers to provide horticulture support to the Tullos Community Garden project. This is an opportunity to contribute to the development of a community garden that has been up and running for almost 5 years. We need support to continue to develop the garden and its range of benefits for the wider community. Increase access to gardening and growing opportunities for the urban community in Torry, contributing to the health and wellbeing of residents. Support and supervision will be provided by our Volunteer Coordinator and the rest of the project committee. We are always happy to provide references for our Volunteers and where possible advise on future career paths. In addition, you will have the opportunity to have your say and become an active member of the garden committee. *Role of volunteer: • To work with CFINE and members of the Tullos Community Garden team to support the care of the garden. • Outdoor work in most weathers. • Assisting with the growing and maintenance planning for the garden. • Manual labour including weeding, watering, planting, pruning and litter picking. • Looking after the hand tools and keeping them in a good condition • Keeping pathways clean and clear of debris. • Keeping staff informed if there are any issues, e.g., any problems or concerns with the areas you are working; sharps or hazardous waste found in these areas; other site issues such as problems with visitors. • To support the organisation with volunteering/family/public events. • Assisting with hospitality for visitors to the garden. • Completing tasks assigned by your supervisor. • Supporting the project’s values. • Improving the overall workings of the project. • To work alongside other volunteers. • To liaise with the Tullos Community Garden Project and CFINE and highlight any issues that may require extra support. *Time commitment: Flexible depending on your availability. A fantastic opportunity to help with a wonderful community garden. All help makes a real difference and is greatly appreciated. For further details please contact Rebecca Dunn, Community Growing Development Worker at email: rdunn@cfine.org or telephone: 07588471390.

We’re the Community Growing team at CFINE! We work together with existing community gardens across Aberdeen to help them do more, and we work with volunteers and others to provide opportunities for training, personal development, and improvement of wellbeing. Our work consists of creating and supporting city-wide community growing activities, including amongst other things: seminars and networking opportunities; running workshops and activities programmes with people of all abilities and ages; bringing gardening together with the arts through community-based creative projects; and... Running our gardening skills courses! At this point in time, our team works to run three different kinds of gardening courses: the CFINE “Growing Employability Skills” course; the “Growing For Wellbeing” course, in collaboration with MindStore; and the “Grow Food Indoors” course, in collaboration with One Seed Forward. Of these, we will be having further runs of Growing Employability Skills and Growing For Wellbeing courses throughout the rest of 2024. Both are based on a similar programme, covering four main learning areas: promoting biodiversity; composting and soil health; plant care, and; propagation. And – while wellbeing is always a priority on all of our courses – special attention is paid to this in our Growing For Wellbeing courses, which also include additional activities for developing and practising mindfulness within the sessions. This year will be the third consecutive year that we’ve been running our gardening courses, and our programme is diversifying and expanding all the time. So far, we’ve helped a total of 65 participants to complete our courses across 8 cohorts. Our hope is that by running these courses, we’ll reach out to new people, help them to develop their skills, and support them to improve their wellbeing, while at the same time also working to build up a bigger and bigger volunteer base for Aberdeen’s community growing projects. Our Support For Learning volunteers work together with course tutors during the sessions to: prep and for the sessions and pack down afterwards; supporting course participants to carry out activities; supporting course participants with paperwork and writing where appropriate, and; sometimes some additional tasks (e.g. collecting refreshments for the sessions) are helpful as well. Volunteers are also able to fully participate in the courses alongside other attendees, and so gain all the benefits of our courses -- getting outside and meeting new people, visiting and learning more about Aberdeen's community garden spaces, and getting to practice gardening skills together with the rest of the group. No prior training required for the position. Volunteers will receive training in gardening skills alongside fulfilling their learning support role. The volunteer will be working together with a course tutor at all times, and the community growing team will be available for additional support where required. A fantastic opportunity to help at wonderful community gardens in Aberdeen. All help makes a real difference and is greatly appreciated. For further details please contact Lucy Edwards, Community Growing Assistant at email: ledwards@cfine.org or telephone: 01224 596156.