Making Local Food Work publications

Knead to Know, the Real Bread starter - baking bread for your local community

Knead to Know: the Real Bread starter is the only book dedicated to helping you on the path to success in bringing Real Bread to the heart of your local community.

01/06/2013

Food & Finance: How small-scale food enterprises raise the money to grow

The Food & Finance report presents the findings of research into how small-scale food businesses and community food enterprises have secured funding to support their work. It also presents a summary of interviews with representatives from a range of lenders and funding organisations, and their views on challenges particular to the small-scale food sector.

14/01/2013

Financing community food: Securing money to help community food enterprises to grow

This report examines the funding needs of community food enterprises and how they can continue to use food to achieve a wide variety of important social and environmental benefits.

14/01/2013

A Healthy Profit - a simple guide to pricing the food you make or grow

This report aims to help community food organisations price their produce, to cover their costs and make enough healthy profit to fund other social and environmental activities. It explains why this is important both for them individually and for the alternative food system as a whole.

07/06/2012

Growing Communities: manual of monitoring and evaluation

This report details the way in which the pioneering social enterprise, Growing Communities, monitors and evaluates its work. As well as explaining the criteria they use, it also explores why they think this is an important way of helping the community food sector improve their enterprises, whilst also providing evidence of their social and environmental benefits.

22/05/2012

Growing Manchester(s) Veg People - a guide to setting up a growers' and buyers' co-operative

This practical guide details the creation and development of an innovative growers' and buyers' co-operative aiming to increase the availability of organic, low-carbon food for Manchester, provided in a way that is fair for growers and buyers. It includes template documents to enable others to replicate the co-operative for themselves.

15/05/2012

The story of Moss Brook Growers - how to set up a horticultural enterprise from scratch

This manual gives a step by step guide to how Moss Brook Growers set up a mixed horticultural social enterprise from scratch. It will be invaluable reading to any group or individual looking to grow and sell fruit and vegetables.

15/05/2012

Food Supply and Distribution - evaluation of this strand of the Making Local Food Work programme

Independent evaluation of the Food Supply and Distribution strand of the Making Local Food Work programme, conducted by Dr Stuart Jones of the Programme for Community Regeneration at the University of Glamorgan

27/03/2012

Information Technology and small-scale food organisations: Is IT a nightmare?

This paper aims to share the experience that Sustain has had in working with community-run enterprises that trade in local and sustainable food, to develop Information Technology (IT) systems to support their work.

08/03/2012

Local Food Links: The first 10 years

A review of the development of Local Food Links by Tim Crabtree, its former director and one of the founders of the Bridport Centre for Local Food. The report charts the development of a social enterprise from the trading arm of a charity to an independent organisation focused on providing nutritious school meals made with local food.

15/06/2011

Grow a Grocery: A guide to starting and growing a wholefood co-operative

This guide is designed to help bring more wholefood co-operatives into the world by spreading the business model tried and tested by Unicorn Grocery Worker Co-operative in Manchester since 1996. Unicorn Grocery was established to provide an alternative to the supermarket norm. They have achieved this goal on their own premises, but say they have not fulfilled their purpose until people stop driving across the country to shop with them. The business model is just one of many alternatives, but they would love to see more places like Unicorn in a better food system.

08/08/2010

East London Green Grid: Supporting community food growing in East London

This report from Capital Growth reflects on how community food growing and horticultural enterprises can support the aims of the East London Green Grid - a major regeneration and development programme working to transform East London over the coming 20 to 30 years.

05/06/2010

Joining-the-Dots... Collaborative food buying and sustainable distribution for London restaurants

This report is one of a series that analyses opportunities for improving the sustainability and economic viability of food supply chains serving smaller and community-based food enterprises.

01/06/2010

An investigation into the workings of small-scale food hubs

One of the key challenges facing local food is the issue of economically viable and sustainable distribution. This report analyses 11 small-scale community-run food hubs, examining what they share in common, how they differ, and how the organisers have sought to overcome the challenges they face

01/11/2009

Building a Sustainable Food Hub - three reports on research into community food enterprises

These three combined reports share the learning from pioneering projects taking part in the Food Supply and Distribution strand of the Making Local Food Work programme. It explores different elements that can form part of buidling a sustainable food hub and looks at some of the challenges and issues that they face. In particular, it looks at issues around supplying food access projects, distributing surplus from allotments; and adding value through catering services.

01/11/2009

Growing Round the Houses: Food production on housing estates

A briefing paper by Sustain and the Women's Environmental Network (WEN), explaining how social housing providers and their tenants can work together on their estates to grow food, and the many benefits that this brings for community cohesion, healthy eating and improving green space, especially for families living on a low income.

31/05/2008

Ethical Hijack - defending local and seasonal food from misleading marketing by the food industry

The Ethical Hijack report sets out the case for why the terms 'local', 'seasonal' and 'farmers' market' should be defended from abuse by the food industry. It gives many examples of how these attractive descriptions have been hijacked by food companies and supermarkets to apply to products that do not have the ethical or environmental benefits that these were originally intended to support. It also features case studies from nearly all the major UK supermarkets, as well as a particular focus on the case of Heinz canned soup that claims to be inspired by farmers' markets.

01/01/2008

London Food Link hospital food project distribution research report

This research report, which was commissioned by London Food Link, and carried out by Westley Consulting Ltd, highlights some of the distribution barriers which are facing local and organic food producers when selling to the London market, and for purchasing organisations such as hospitals to buy locally made and locally distributed foods.

30/06/2004

Bread Street: The British baking bloomer?

Bread is cheap and plentiful and remains a dietary staple. But this report shows that we are losing diversity in our bread supplies and in the varieties on offer. Current mass production methods may also be putting our health and the environment at risk, as well as contributing to economic decline in some towns. Half a dozen case studies show what a vibrant bread culture could be, and recommendations point to how local baking distinctiveness could be promoted.

31/05/2004

Briefing: Public Procurement of Sustainable Food - review of activity 2002 to 2004

This briefing paper - reviewing activities to improve public sector food between 2002 and 2004 - is one of several on themes relating to Sustainable Food Chains. It formed part of an initiative started by Sustain in 2002, to promote local and sustainable food, including opportunities in public sector catering.

30/04/2004

Feeding the Future: Policy options for local food - A discussion paper

Written in 2003, this report sets out the many policy ideas generated over recent years to support the local food sector, and to stimulate policy initiatives to complement and support activities across local and regional levels.

01/01/2004

Briefing: What the English Regional Development Agencies do to support sustainable food economies

Written in 2002, this paper looks at what each English Regional Development Agency has done, and is planning to do, to support sustainable food economies. It makes recommendations for the RDAs to support sustainable food economies.

31/03/2002

Briefing: Public Procurement of Sustainable Food - current, planned and related initiatives

This briefing paper, explores 30 examples of sustainable food procurement and policy initiatives to improve public sector food. The paper is one of several on themes relating to Sustainable Food Chains. It formed part of an initiative started by Sustain in 2002, to promote local and sustainable food, including opportunities in public sector catering.

01/03/2002

Briefing: Public Sector Catering - opportunities and issues relating to sustainable food procurement

This briefing paper - examining opportunities and issues relating to sustainable food procurement in the public sector - is one of several on themes relating to Sustainable Food Chains. It formed part of an initiative started by Sustain in 2002, to promote local and sustainable food. The aim of the Sustainable Food Chains project was to help British farming and sustainable production following the devastating effects on farming and the rural economy of foot and mouth disease. The work also informed development of Sustain's successful Good Food on the Plate project, which helped public sector institutions buy and serve healthier and more sustainable food.

01/02/2002

Food With Latitude: A report exploring food project links across the North-South divide

This report, written in partnership with Oxfam, describes research into links between community food projects in the North and South of the globe. It considers the benefits of sharing knowledge, since people in poverty are often dealing with similar barriers to food security, no matter where they live. Using case studies, the report suggests that establishing links could provide an as yet untapped and innovative solution to some of the problems caused by increasing globalisation.

01/01/2002

Briefing: Local Food - benefits, obstacles and opportunities

This paper gives an overview of what local food economies are, the benefits of and obstacles to more local food, and the priority measures needed to support local food economies.

01/01/2002

Hunger from the inside: The experience of food poverty in the UK

This report demonstrates the benefits of putting communities at the heart of action to tackle food poverty and social exclusion. Through the words of participants who took part in Sustain's Community Mapping project the report reveals how the depth and breadth of peoples experiences can be harnessed towards positive action and policy development. It highlights the disparities between what is being done, what is not being done and what should be done at local regional and national levels and encourages more Community Mapping.

01/01/2002

Too Much and Too Little? Debates on surplus food redistribution

Surplus food, such as food approaching its sell-by date or agricultural produce taken off the market to stabilise prices, is redistributed to poor people through homelessness projects, charities, local authorities and schools. But is this a good solution or could it perpetuate the problems of waste and poverty? Aiming to stimulate the debate, this report looks at the variety of schemes in Britain the US and Europe, and examines the policy options.

01/01/2000

City Harvest: The feasibility of growing more food in London

This report on the feasibility of food production in cities, taking London as its example, is relevant to all urban areas. It assess how, and to what extent, urban food growing could make a contribution to social, economic and environmental health, and community and educational development. The book covers urban food systems and an overview of existing food growing activities. With inspiring examples and case studies from the UK and abroad, the report presents a conclusion and detailed recommendations, and includes maps, a glossary, and sources of more information.

01/01/1999

Developing Local Networks to Tackle Food Poverty

A summary report covering five community seminars on tackling food poverty. It investigates opportunities at local and national levels for taking action to address food poverty and its impact on health and quality of life.

01/01/1999

Tackling Inequalities in Health and Diet-related Disease

Developing successful inter-agency partnerships was the focus of a seminar to promote fruit and veg consumption among low income groups. Presentations by a government minister, a supermarket nutritionist, campaigning groups and public health experts are all included in the report, along with the policy recommendations and practical proposals that were generated.

01/01/1999

Myths About Food and Low Income

This document for community and health workers, and local and national policy makers, challenges the myths and assumptions about people's ability to eat healthily on a low income. Myths include, 'They don't know how to shop or cook properly' and 'They spend too much on take-away food'.

01/01/1997

Growing Food In Cities: The benefits of urban agriculture in the UK

This groundbreaking 1996 report on the benefits of urban food growing contains 38 case studies from across the UK and beyond, showing how to take action yourself, and what government can do to help.

01/01/1996