Sustain / Making Local Food Work / Archive: Food co-ops updates
2009 updates on food co-ops and buying groups
Autumn 2009
We continue to provide advice and support to food co-ops across the country. Part-time co-ordinators are being recruited in each of the eight regions in England to develop work with food co-ops on a local level. The online food co-ops toolkit was launched last quarter, and has already received excellent feedback. A print version is also available on request (see contact details above).
In the past quarter we have also run a workshop on how to set up a food co-op at a Fresh Ideas event in Winchester for around eight participants from the South East, and a workshop on operation and suppliers for seven participants setting up new food co-ops in London, in partnership with Well London. We have distributed two more issues of our food co-ops e-newsletter to around 400 subscribers.
Spring 2009
In the last quarter, Sustain's food co-ops project officer Maresa Bossano has:
- Organised a lively and well-received national food co-ops conference.
- Given talks to groups in Crystal Palace and Hackney that are thinking of setting up new food co-ops
- Sent information to groups thinking of setting up food co-ops in Hull, Nottingham, Hebden Bridge, and London
- Provided free marketing materials to 18 existing food co-ops.
- Launched a new food co-ops website (www.foodcoops.org).
- Finalised content for the food co-ops toolkit ready for launching in May. Over recent weeks, project officer
Making Local Food Work: Making Local Food Work aimed to reconnect people and land through local food by increasing access to fresh, healthy, local food with clear, traceable origins.