Slow Food Scotland
Good, Clean and Fair
SLOW FOOD SCOTLAND (SC045764) TRUSTEES REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR YEAR ENDING
ABSTRACT
Summary of Slow Food Scotland Trustee Report and Financial statement for 2023/24
The membership has dropped slightly, and the local groups have continued to run activities across the Slow Food project areas.
The accounts show the spending constraints and self-funding events have continued to stabilise the financial position.
31/07/24
Registered in Scotland as a SCIO, No. SC045764. Address, 19 Mansionhouse Road, Edinburgh EH9 1TZ
Good, Clean and Fair
Slow Food Scotland
OSCR Submission for Year ending 31[st] July 2024
Following the restructuring of the Board of Trustees in 2023, we retained the same 5 Trustees, as well as our Network Group, which represents the local convivia, the Cooks’ Alliance, and the Ark of Taste. The board now stands as follows:
Bank details
- Slow Food Scotland has a current account with the Co-operative Bank with four named authorisers being Two
signatures are required for any outgoing transactions.
Solicitor
- There is no solicitor for Slow Food Scotland.
The Slow Food Scotland independent examiner for the year ending 31[st] July 2024
Registered charity
- SC045764
Charity Name
- Slow Food Scotland (also known as Slow Food Alba. Slow Food Alba is an alias defined in the constitution – it is not a separate entity.)
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Registered in Scotland as a SCIO, No. SC045764. Address, 19 Mansionhouse Road, Edinburgh EH9 1TZ
Slow Food Scotland
Good, Clean and Fair
Trustees’ Annual Report
Structure, Governance and Management
Constitution
The Charity is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (a SCIO). It was registered in its current legal form on 31[st] July 2015. Slow Food Scotland (SFS) was created when Slow Food in the UK (SFUK) devolved most of its activities to the individual UK countries. Slow Food in the UK continues as a coordination point and a reporting channel for the Global Slow Food movement. It also provides services, primarily administration of the membership, for each of the countries.
It has a single tier structure and as such the trustees are members of the charity.
Appointment of trustees
The trustees have either been elected at a general meeting or co-opted by the board. The board meets quarterly.
Election as a trustee is open to any member of Slow Food resident in Scotland or assigned to one of the local Scottish Slow Food groups. Trustees are elected at an AGM meeting held during the last calendar quarter of the year. There is a maximum of 12 trustees of whom no more than 8 can be elected from the membership and no more than 4 additional can be coopted from within or outside the membership. There are currently 5 elected trustees.
Objectives and Activities
Charitable purposes
SFS promotes the Slow Food agenda at a country level and also coordinates the activities of the SFS local convivia, which are independent. The formal designated charitable purposes are as follows:
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a) The advancement of education through the coordination of Scotland-wide food-related educational activities, support to local food networks and providing links with other communities around the world.
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b) The advancement of environmental protection or improvement through seeking to safeguard sustainability and biodiversity across the whole food system
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c) The advancement of heritage and culture through preserving and protecting endangered food and linked food traditions and activities
Activities
The charity engages with organizations, government bodies and local Slow Food convivia to promote the Slow Food principles aligned to the charitable objectives as follows:
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a) Advancement of education – running events to illustrate the benefits of good, healthy and ethically produced food across all aspects of society from school children to adults and organisations. The Taste Adventure project is aimed at children, encouraging them to explore food through their senses.
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b) The advancement of the arts, heritage, culture and science – establishing awareness of products, breeds and techniques that are at risk of being lost through modern commercial practices, again across a wide range of people, restaurants and chefs and other
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Registered in Scotland as a SCIO, No. SC045764. Address, 19 Mansionhouse Road, Edinburgh EH9 1TZ
Good, Clean and Fair
Slow Food Scotland
organisations. Two projects, Ark of Taste and Cooks’ Alliance highlight potentially disappearing products and draw them to the attention of chefs and restaurants.
- c) The advancement of environmental protection or improvement – influencing organizations and running projects to highlight how traditional techniques cannot just be more healthy but also be more environmentally friendly. Ark of Taste illustrates the value of traditional products and techniques that suit the local climate and terroir.
Achievements and Performance
During the year the overall Scottish membership has dropped slightly to 166, from 177 the previous year. Following the re-launch of the Network Group in 2023, in June 2024 we appointed
of Slow Food Glasgow to the role of Network Coordinator. This new role is anticipated to provide structure and leadership to the Network Group to enable the convivia to coordinate their proposed ideas and activities.
The number of local convivia remains at 4, including the Virtual group which will host an online event later in 2024. Aberdeen has maintained the necessary numbers to have a convivium (20), and during the year focused on planning for the relaunch of the World Buttery Championship. Edinburgh has hosted events focusing on Slow Cheese, and a vegetarian Burns’ Supper at a local vegetarian restaurant, complete with traditional music and poetry. Glasgow continues their work producing a local sustainable food guide as well as hosting Slow Food events throughout the year.
Slow Food Berwick, technically part of Slow Food England, remains a guest convivium and we continue to involve Berwick in our activities and remain in contact with their committee.
Below are some of the activities aligned to our charitable objectives:
● The advancement of education
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Slow Food Glasgow hosted an event as part of the Glasgow Coffee Festival. The aim was to give less experienced and connected hospitality professionals an opportunity to learn about sustainability in the coffee industry with experts from the Slow Food Coffee Coalition. It was well attended by chefs and restaurateurs, who learned about transparency throughout the supply chain, covering issues like food security, inclusivity, traceability and the protection of human and labor rights. This activity was supported by a grant from Slow Food International.
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Embracing the Slow Food in the UK “Time for Lunch” campaign, Slow Food Edinburgh promoted taking a break for lunch every Thursday in June. Sharing lunch with colleagues or friends and taking time away from their desks, they encouraged people to slow down for lunch at least once a week and enjoy spending time with each other in person.
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The local convivia ran events to raise awareness of the value that local, organic, smallscale producers and suppliers provide in terms of health and ecological impact. Slow Food Edinburgh visited the maturation room of renowned cheese monger . They explored a variety of carefully selected, traditionally made cheeses—each with its own unique story, flavour profile, and aging process. The event highlighted the importance of supporting small-scale producers who preserve time-honoured methods and protect biodiversity through traditional cheesemaking.
● The advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science
- The Ark of Taste is our primary project to protect food heritage, identifying products that are falling out of general use and in danger of becoming extinct. The Ark of Taste records
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Registered in Scotland as a SCIO, No. SC045764. Address, 19 Mansionhouse Road, Edinburgh EH9 1TZ
Slow Food Scotland
Good, Clean and Fair
products in danger and promotes their use to chefs and cooks and to the general public. Slow Food and Ark produce featured at a range of different events across Scotland this year, presented by our Ark of Taste project leader,
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Scottish Cooks’ Alliance members continue to be recognised with prestigious awards for their practices, with of Errichel in Perthshire winning the RBST Sustainable Chef of the Year award. The judges were impressed with passion for showcasing the rare breeds reared on the farm on each plate at Errichel’s Thyme bistro.
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Ark of Taste project leader is a driving force in the delivery of the Scottish Bread Championship and the Scottish Festival for Real Bread hosted at Bowhouse, in Fife. The Championship encourages the use of Scottish heritage grains and there was great interest shown. Slow Food Scotland Trustee Walter Mowat was part of the judging panel giving freely of their time. Company Bakery won Supreme Champion & The Culinary Kiwi Bird was Reserve Champion, using Ark of Taste Orkney Bere in her winning Beremeal Boule.
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Slow Food Edinburgh hosted a Burns’ Supper at Henderson’s restaurant, an awardwinning, family-run institution and a cornerstone of the city’s vegetarian and vegan scene. Initial scepticism about a completely meat-free Burns’ Night celebration was soon put aside. The combination of quality, modern versions of Scottish classics, coupled with traditional poetry, music, and the address to the haggis, made for an evening rich in culture and culinary excellence.
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The advancement of environmental protection or improvement
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Slow Food Scotland has long campaigned for the use of local, organic, and biodiverse produce and regenerative farming, with its accompanying benefits for climate control. It also campaigns against intensive, large scale industrial farming that relies on fertiliser and poor animal welfare to maximise profit, and which contributes adversely to the deteriorating climate situation.
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Slow Food Scotland continued its participation in the consultations for the Right to Food and the Good Food Nation bills as they progressed and provided input to the new Scottish Agriculture bill, which will replace the EU subsidies but hopefully in a manner that will achieve the challenging biodiversity and sustainability targets set by the Scottish government.
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Slow Food Glasgow participated in the Full of Beans campaign. As an outcome of the experience of one of their members within Slow Beans, the collaborative initiative between Glasgow Food Policy Partnership and Glasgow Community Food Network promoted bean consumption, featuring a talk on food heritage and protein transition, highlighting how growing more beans can improve soil and water quality.
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Registered in Scotland as a SCIO, No. SC045764. Address, 19 Mansionhouse Road, Edinburgh EH9 1TZ
Slow Food Scotland
Good, Clean and Fair
Slow Food Financial Statement Accounts for the year ending 31[st] July 2024
Slow Food in the UK context
The UK position remains financially stable, but there is increasing demand from Slow Food International for funds to support their global objectives. Whilst Slow Food in the UK has been able to meet their targets, as these increase due to Slow Food broadening their work scope and continuing financial pressures due to inflation, it becomes ever more challenging and likely to become unsustainable. Discussions with Slow Food International on the impact are ongoing, but it is not expected that it will affect how Slow Food operates in the UK over the next few years.
Slow Food Scotland Accounts for the Year ending 31st July 2024
The SFS Financial position shows that there is a surplus of £582 for the year, with reserves of £3622, of which £1770 is reserved for committed project use. This returns the financial reserves close to that of 2022, as the repaid debt of £586 from SFEdinburgh appears in this financial year.
As previously, events such as the AGM have been and will continue to be self-funded. Travel costs have been eliminated, with volunteers bearing any costs themselves.
A membership revenue distribution for the next year is again not expected. Events will continue to be very carefully controlled and where possible, will remain self-funding and close monitoring of expenses will continue. SFS (and SF in the UK) will also continue seeking fund-raising opportunities. The board expects the Slow Food Scotland financial position to remain stable.
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Registered in Scotland as a SCIO, No. SC045764. Address, 19 Mansionhouse Road, Edinburgh EH9 1TZ
Slow Food Scotland Good, Clean and Fair
Receipts and Payments Accounts
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Registered in Scotland as a SCIO, No. SC045764. Address, 19 Mansionhouse Road, Edinburgh EH9 1TZ
Slow Food Scotland
Good, Clean and Fair
Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by: 05/04/2025
Treasurer on
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No trustees received fees for their services during the year.
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No expense payments were made to trustees unless pre-approved and with supporting documentation.
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All significant expenses are agreed in advance by the board.
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All bank withdrawals were authorised by two of the trustee signatories.
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IT costs include non-discretionary recurring costs for SFS web hosting and domain names etc.
Going Concern
The company has previously depended primarily on funding from members’ subscriptions and supporters’ donations, both of which have continued to decline. The central costs of administering these and other central costs will likely mean that again there will be no revenue from this source for the next few years. The Trustees believe they have taken appropriate measures in relation to cost control and to increase income from fundraising. On the basis of projections for the year ended 31 July 2025, the Trustees consider that Slow Food Scotland will be able to meet its liabilities as and when they fall due.
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Registered in Scotland as a SCIO, No. SC045764. Address, 19 Mansionhouse Road, Edinburgh EH9 1TZ
Slow Food Scotland
Good, Clean and Fair
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s)
Full name(s)
Position (e.g. Chairperson Secretary Chair) Date 24/04/2025 24/04/2025
Date
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Registered in Scotland as a SCIO, No. SC045764. Address, 19 Mansionhouse Road, Edinburgh EH9 1TZ
Slow Food Scotland Good, Clean and Fair
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES
SLOW FOOD SCOTLAND
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Registered in Scotland as a SCIO, No. SC045764. Address, 19 Mansionhouse Road, Edinburgh EH9 1TZ