GRACE KEEVINS first became involved with Moogety Grub Hub earlier in the summer when staff and volunteers at the social enterprise in Govan were decorating their meeting place in a ground floor flat in the street where she lives.

Local to the area, she had moved away in her 20s and only came back a few years ago. Friends had drifted away and Grace didn't know many people.

She started popping in to volunteer and help out, now the 55-year-old has made a whole new circle of friends and picked up a few skills along the way.

"I come in as often as I can, usually a couple of times a week," says Grace, who is a support worker with Scottish Association for Mental Health.

"I've done the Grow Your Own course that teaches you about the soil and the basics of how to start growing. I live in a tenement flat, my daughter lives in a tenement, we didn't have idea how to grow stuff. It was just amazing."

Set up earlier this year Moogety Grub Hub aims to tackle food poverty in Govan through a range of community-led projects from cookery classes to gardening courses. With a community garden, the hub at 30 Elderpark Street and a co-operative fruit and veg shop soon to open around the corner, it offers the tools people need to live a healthier life.

It will get a chance to showcase some of its produce, as well as its ideas, at Let's Eat Glasgow, at SWG3 on September 5 and 6.

The pop-up market at the weekend event will feature artisan food and drink producers from across the West of Scotland as well as innovative food-based social enterprises such as Moogety Grub Hub.

"The whole idea of it being about good, quality food in my local area without having to travel to get it: it's affordable and nourishing," adds Grace, who has now encouraged her daughter Micha Stewart and two-year-old grandson Leo to get involved.

"I like the idea of being able to go round to a corner shop, like it was in the old days, and speak to people.

"With volunteering here at No 30 I am passing on information to other people, getting them out out their houses has been amazing. For mental health more than anything it's just brilliant."

Grace is now involved in giving cookery demonstrations at a local pensioners' club and helps make up meal bags to be sold in the area.

An ingenious idea, the meal bags contain everything you need to pull together a simple recipe, right down to the correct measure of rice or grains and even a stock cube. They will be sold at Let's Eat Glasgow.

"I was very excited when I heard that Let's Eat Glasgow was giving spaces to social enterprises because one of the problems we have is: how do we make it sustainable?" asks Anne Philbrow, food and health co-ordinator at Urban Roots, which manages Moogety Grub Hub.

"One of the reasons there isn't a greengrocer in Govan is because it is not economically viable. Small shops can't compete with big supermarkets. The small shops can't afford to sell things at an affordable price. It means people who might want fresh veg can't buy it. Meanwhile, there are low levels of car ownership and they can't go to the big stores.

"To address that, our idea is to sell at low cost within Govan but try to make it sustainable by selling it at a premium outside the area, but selling good quality products. It is events such as Let's Eat that will enable us to do that."

Looking at the way sandwich shop Social Bite operates, with the idea that people have the option to pay extra because they want to support the enterprise, it means it a transparent set-up.

Likewise, at Moogety Grub Hub, people may want to support the enterprise and don't mind paying extra. By offering added value, it promotes Scottish and organic produce, and by trying to source as locally as possible it helps the local economy.

"The product we're offering is not just straightforward veg, though we probably will offer some of that too," explains Anne.

"Because we are connected with improving people's cooking and gardening skills, we want to get people cooking again.

"The meal bags mean people don't have to think so hard, it is achievable for those who aren't confident about cooking. It's making it accessible because there is less of a process, and it tends to be a healthier option such as dahl, curry or soup.

"This way people can try out new recipes without a big financial commitment. You don't have to buy a whole bottle of chilli sauce. It might encourage people to expand their food horizons a bit, which is part of the idea."

There are plans to cater for gluten free and celiac diets, as well as food bags for people who live alone.

"We are aware that a lot of elderly people live on their own and might buy food that will go out of date because they have to buy more than they actually need and then waste money," says Anne.

Designed and served by Cail Bruich, The Crabshakk, The Gannet, Guy's, Mother India, Ox and Finch, Stravaigin and the Ubiquitous Chip, dishes will be available at Let's Eat Glasgow for £5. Buy vouchers in advance at www.letseeatglasgow