Tha sgeama bidhe Uibhist na eisimpleir air na ghabhas a dhèanamh

Tha pròiseact beag air tòiseachadh ann an Uibhist a tha glè inntinneach. ’S dòcha gun canadh cuid nach eil mòran ùr mu dheidhinn sgeama far a bheileas a’ toirt biadh blàth dha seann daoine a’ fuireach nan aonar, ach ’s e a tha seasamh a-mach ann an seo ach an sgeulachd a tha air a chùlaibh.

Ailean bho Taigh-Fuine MhicIlleathain a’ toirt diathad seachad do Dhòmhnall Dòmhnallach bho Tagsa Uibhist

[English-language version below]

Chaidh tòiseachadh leis an smuain nach eileas a’ dèanamh feum gu leòr de bhiadh an àite fhèin agus le sin chuir am buidheann Tagsa Uibhist rannsachadh air dòigh a dh’fhaicinn dè dìreach na cothroman a bha ann agus dè na duilgheadasan a bhiodh na chois.

Chaidh coimhead gu sònraichte ri lusan is glasraich agus dè bha ri fhaighinn aig deagh phrìs an taca ri tìr-mòr.

Bha na lorgaidhean smaoineachail. Sheall an rannsachadh gun robh sa chumantas stuth 28% nas daoire ann an Uibhist na dhol ga cheannach bho Tesco On-line agus glè thric cha robh faisg air an aon raon de stuth ri fhaighinn a bharrachd.

Mar eisimpleir, bha poca lusan cilo de chuideam £1.10 aig Tesco ach anns a’ bhùth aca ann an Uibhist bha sin £2.87 agus uaireannan cho daor ri £4.67. Agus sin aig àm far a bheil cosgaisean a’ bhìdh ag èirigh gu mòr co-dhiù.

Mar thoradh air an rannsachadh, agus a’ gabhail ris a’ phrionnsabal gum bu chòir barrachd a dhèanamh le stuth an àite fhèin, thòisich Tagsa Uibhist ag obair le Taigh-Fuine MhicIlleathain, companaidh ionadail air a bheil meas mòr, gus “Biadh Blasta Uibhist” a chur air dòigh.

Sa chiad dol a-mach bheir iad diathadan blàth fallain – gun a bhith a’ cleachdadh càil ach biadh na sgìre – gu 23 duine a tha faighinn cùram san dachaigh ann an Uibhist. Ach tha seo cuideachd gu bhith mar bhunait airson an rud a sgaoileadh tòrr mòr nas fharsainge san àm ri teachd.

Seo na bh’ aig oifigear leasachaidh Tagsa Uibhist, Ailig MacChoinnich ri ràdh agus an sgeama ga chur air chois: “Tha uimhir de bhiadh math fallain air ar starsaich agus tha e na thàmailt mhòr nach eil barrachd dheth ri fhaighinn gu furasta. An tòiseach tha sinn dol a dh’fheuchainn an sgeama seo a-mach airson dà mhìos, ach tha sinn an dòchas leudachadh às dèidh sin.

“’S e seirbheis an-asgaidh a tha seo a tha dìreach a’ dearbhadh na ghabhas a dhèanamh. Bheir sinn sùil air ciamar a ghabhas a leudachadh. Ann an co-theacsa èiginn air cosgaisean a bhith-beò, cha bu chòir dha na cosgaisean a bhith ro mhòr.”

Ged a tha seo a’ tachairt ann an Uibhist, tha fhios g’ eil an t-aon rud fìor ann an iomadach sgìre eile air feadh Alba – cho beag ’s a thathar a’ dèanamh le biadh an àite fhèin.

Tha sinn air fàs fada ro leisg agus ro chleachdte ri sgeilfichean nam bùithtean mòra agus ar basgaidean a lìonadh ann an sin, fiù ’s ged a tha prìsean ann am bùth bhùidseir ’s an leithid a cheart cho saor.

Cha chuir càil dhen seo dragh air companaidhean nam bùithtean mòra. Cha bhi càil a dh’eagal orra no air an cuid prothaidean mòra.

Ach, mar a tha am pròiseact ann an Uibhist a’ sealltainn, tha rùm airson raon eile agus raon a bhiodh tòrr mòr nas fallain ann an iomadach dòigh.

English-language version:

A community project on an Outer Hebrides island to deliver hot food to some of its elderly residents doesn’t sound hugely revolutionary, either in scope or in originality. However, what stands out here, what provides a sense of much more promise, is the background to a story that’s hopefully just getting underway.

It all started with the basic premise that not enough was being done with local produce and so Tagsa Uibhist, a local charity, undertook a study last year to better understand the opportunities and the challenges. The research focussed on the affordability and accessibility of basic fruit and vegetable items, compared to that available on the mainland, and the findings were striking: it showed that fewer than half of the shopping list items were easily accessible while the total basket cost was 28 per cent more expensive than a Tesco Online delivery on the mainland.

Examples quoted by the research included: “Rather than paying £1.10 for a 1kg bag of mixed vegetables (Tesco Online) islanders were on average paying £2.87 and sometimes paying out £4.67 for frozen mixed vegetables.” And this at a time of a crippling rise in the cost of living anyway.

On the back of that and with an understanding that much more could be done with local produce, Tagsa Uibhist teamed up with Maclean’s Bakery, a highly regarded local company, to launch ‘Biadh Blasta Uibhist’. Initially, it will supply and deliver meals to 23 clients, who are being cared for at home, but it is also being used as a stepping stone for a wider drive to encourage more use of local produce, on economic as well as nutritional grounds.

Here’s what Tagsa’s local food development manager, Alex MacKenzie, had to say at the launch: “There is such an abundance of high-quality local produce and it seems a crying shame that it is not more widely available. Initially, we are testing out this service over two months but there is the potential to continue and expand it.

“This is a free service which showcases the possibility of what can happen. Thereafter we will look at how we can scale it up. Within the context of a cost-of-living crisis, it isn’t something that would cost the earth”.

While this may be happening in Uist on an admittedly small scale, the same basic premise exists right throughout rural Scotland – too little is being done in terms of developing the local produce offering. We, the public, have become too accustomed to the convenience of the supermarket shelf, even when what might be available elsewhere, say the local butcher, is comparable in price terms.

Developing more of an appetite for local produce shouldn’t worry the supermarkets. Neither they nor their hefty profit margins will disappear any time soon. However, as the Uist project has shown, there is room for a lot more variety – and that would be far healthier in all sorts of ways.