For many people, eating healthily is a choice. For many immigrant and minority ethnic families, it is often much more complicated.

The challenge is not simply deciding what to eat. It is finding food that is healthy, affordable, culturally familiar, and accessible. It is balancing rising living costs with family responsibilities. It is adapting to a new country while trying to preserve traditions, identity, and wellbeing.

These are the everyday realities experienced by many of the people we work with at Unity for Integration Project (UFIP).

That is why we are delighted to be leading Our Food, Our Health, Our Future, a new community-led research project supported through the Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Catalyst Award from the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

This project represents an exciting milestone for UFIP as we continue to combine community action with research to create lasting change.

Why this project matters

Food is about far more than nutrition.

It brings families together. It preserves culture. It supports physical and mental health. It creates opportunities to build friendships and strengthen communities.

Yet many immigrant and minority ethnic families in Scotland experience barriers that are rarely discussed in policy conversations, including:

• Rising food prices
• Limited access to culturally appropriate ingredients
• Lack of information about healthy alternatives
• Difficulties balancing healthy eating with tight household budgets
• Food environments that do not reflect the needs of diverse communities

These challenges affect people’s health, confidence, sense of belonging and quality of life.

Despite this, the voices of those living these experiences are often absent from research and decision-making.

Our project aims to change that.

Research that starts with people

Too often, research is carried out on communities.

At UFIP, we believe research should be carried out with communities.

Our Food, Our Health, Our Future places community members at the centre of the research process. Rather than assuming what the problems are or designing solutions from outside, we will work alongside families to understand their lived experiences and co-create practical responses.

This means recognising participants not simply as research subjects, but as experts in their own lives.

What we will do

Over the next twelve months, UFIP will work with immigrant and minority ethnic families across Glasgow to better understand the realities of accessing healthy food.

Participants will contribute through:

• Community conversations
• Focus groups
• Surveys and interviews
• Storytelling workshops
• Co-design sessions
• Practical community activities

These activities will help us identify the barriers families face, but more importantly, they will help uncover solutions that communities themselves believe will work.

From research to action

Although this is a research project, it is designed to be practical from the very beginning.

Throughout the project we will explore and test small-scale community-led ideas that could improve healthy eating, including:

• Affordable healthy cooking sessions
• Budget-friendly culturally appropriate recipes
• Food access initiatives
• Community food sharing ideas
• Practical guidance shaped by lived experience

Rather than producing another report that sits on a shelf, we want this research to become the foundation for real change.

Building healthier communities

The project will produce:

• A comprehensive community research report
• Evidence-based recommendations
• A practical toolkit of community-designed ideas
• Community events to share learning
• Strong evidence to support future larger-scale programmes

Our ambition is that the lessons learned will not only benefit participants in Glasgow but will also inform wider conversations about food, health, inclusion and community wellbeing across Scotland.

Why funders should care

One of the greatest challenges facing many communities today is not simply food insecurity, it is ensuring that healthy food is accessible, affordable and culturally meaningful.

Funders increasingly recognise that sustainable solutions cannot be designed without the people they are intended to support.

This project demonstrates how community organisations can bridge the gap between lived experience, research and practical action.

By investing in community-led research, funders invest in better evidence, stronger partnerships and solutions that are far more likely to succeed because they have been designed with the people they serve.

Looking ahead

The Healthy Planet, Healthy People Catalyst Award marks the beginning of an exciting journey.

Our goal is not simply to understand the challenges families face today, but to generate the evidence, partnerships and practical ideas needed to develop larger programmes that create long-term improvements in healthy food access and community wellbeing.

We hope this work will pave the way for future investment that allows successful ideas to be expanded across Glasgow and beyond.

Join us

At Unity for Integration Project, we believe healthier communities are built by listening, learning and working together.

If you are a community member, organisation, researcher or funder interested in this work, we would love to hear from you.

Together, we can ensure that every family has the opportunity not only to eat well, but to thrive.

Get involved

Interested in participating, collaborating or supporting this project?

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