Healthy eating initiative and art therapy group set to receive Big Lottery Fund awards.

Community projects across Scotland will benefit from more than £3 million of funding after the latest round of Big Lottery Fund awards was announced.

The cash will be split between 18 initiatives, from city farms to support services for victims of abuse.

In Edinburgh, the Community Alliance Trust has been awarded £149,916 to develop a community garden and healthy eating project for three housing estates in Craigmillar.

The cash will also go towards employing a gardener and a food worker to demonstrate how to turn fresh produce into healthy meals.

We are so excited at the prospect of developing local greenspace into community gardens

Bob Giulianotti, the trust’s business manager, said: “We are so excited at the prospect of not only developing local greenspace into community gardens but also taking the produce from the gardens into the kitchen and helping people cook healthy meals at affordable costs.

“We will also work with local youngsters to look at ways of improving their local environment for play.”

Another project benefiting from the funding is Art Angel in Dundee.

The scheme will use an award of £119,416 to run a programme of arts activities for people with mental health difficulties who are isolated and feel cut off from their communities.

Project manager Rosie Summerton said: “This project is aimed at people who have previously had little or no contact with community based service and have consequently become isolated, lonely and disconnected from their community and society in general.

“We aim to inspire individuals through arts based activities providing individually tailored support and encouragement thus allowing people to sustain recovery at their own pace and in their own direction.”

The latest funding totals £3,223,133. It comes as part of the Big Lottery Fund’s five-year £250m community funding scheme.

Maureen McGinn, the fund’s chairwoman for Scotland, said: “This funding supports communities across Scotland to improve both the places they live and the wellbeing of those facing challenging circumstances. These two fantastic projects will help bring people and communities together.”

Other projects benefitting include Hope Kitchen in Oban, which will set up a recovery café for people affected by homelessness, mental health issues and drug addiction; a support group in Dundee for families of children with ADHD; Gorgie City Farm in Edinburgh; and a the No Feart project for abuse victims in Glasgow.

The fund has also announced eight Investing in Ideas awards, totalling £69,976, to help groups to develop a new idea that will benefit their community.