A recipe for community action: Edinburgh SOUP No. 4
Good food, live music and a room full of ideas for Edinburgh. Last Wednesday, we joined Edinburgh Can B for the fourth Edinburgh SOUP, bringing local residents together to share ideas and support grassroots projects, with funding from ECCAN’s Greenlight Fund.
Hosted at The Melting Pot, the evening brought together four projects, each with an idea for strengthening communities across the city. The format is simple: come along, enjoy a bowl of soup, hear from the projects and vote for the one you’d like to support, with proceeds from ticket sales going to the winning idea.
We started with delicious carrot and coriander soup prepared by the wonderful SLURP Edinburgh, alongside donated bread. With live music, plenty of conversation and a lively room, it was a lovely opportunity to meet others working on different ways to make Edinburgh a more connected, supportive place.
Four ideas for Edinburgh
The pitches reflected a range of approaches to building stronger communities, from creating spaces for connection to making better use of resources.
We heard proposals for phone-free cafés, encouraging more face-to-face connection, and a nature school for grown-ups, bringing adults together to learn and spend time outdoors. The latter is already exploring gatherings in Bridgend and Craigmillar and is looking for more spaces and partners.
Another project focused on making volunteering more accessible, with quick, simple opportunities to help make contributing to your community part of everyday life.
Newington Foodbank shared plans to make better use of surplus food donations, purchasing kitchen equipment to turn vegetables and other ingredients into nutritious soups and hot meals for local residents experiencing food insecurity.
And the winner was…
After hearing all four pitches, everyone had the chance to vote, with Newington Foodbank receiving an overwhelming show of support!
The funding raised will help the foodbank purchase equipment to turn surplus produce, including donations from FareShare, into hot meals for those who need them.
While only one project could receive the funding, the evening was also an opportunity for all four to share their work, make connections and find others interested in getting involved.
Small ideas, collective impact
Organised by Edinburgh Can B and supported by ECCAN’s Greenlight Fund, Edinburgh SOUP offers a welcoming space for community ideas to be heard and supported. It’s a reminder of what can happen when local residents have opportunities to share their ideas, connect with others and access the resources to put them into practice.
A big thank you to Edinburgh Can B, The Melting Pot, SLURP Edinburgh and everyone who contributed to the evening, and to all four projects for sharing their ideas.
Interested in getting involved?
Find out more about Edinburgh Can B and future Edinburgh SOUP events, or explore ECCAN’s Greenlight Fund to see how we’re supporting community-led climate action across Edinburgh.
