MAKING LOCAL FOOD WORK

                                                                                                

WHAT IS MLFW? The Making Local Food Work Project is a national project funded by the BIG Lottery. The programme will see £10 million invested in local food initiatives throughout England over five years. It aims to reconnect consumers to the land by increasing access to fresh, healthy local food. Country Markets Ltd has been awarded just over £500,000 to explore and develop the sale of Country Markets home produced food in England through retail outlets such as community-owned and village shops, farm shops and garden centres. The fund is paying for Country Markets Ltd to develop a toolkit and training to support producers in selling their goods into retail outlets and recruit Business Support Advisers. It will also pay for developing promotional material and publicity to build awareness and increase the customer base of Country Markets nationally and attract new producers to our organisation. The Making Local Food Work Project is a fantastic opportunity to develop and promote this remarkable organisation and ensure its sustainability.

WHO IS INVOLVED? Our project partners are: The Plunkett Foundation supports rural group enterprise  http://www.plunkett.co.uk Sustain supports co-operative buying groups and is looking for producers to supply them.  http://www.sustainweb.org The National Farmers' Retail and Markets Association or FARMA supports the establishment of Co-operative Farmers' Markets that Country Markets can join. http://www.farma.org.uk Co-operatives-UK offers guidance and training on governance. http://www.cooperatives-uk.coop The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is mapping local food networks across England. http://www.cpre.org.uk The Soil Association nurtures local food networks that bring consumers and producers together. http://www.soilassociation.org Follow the link below to enter the project website and learn more about the project and our partners; www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk

WHAT IS THE PROJECT DOING? In order to meet the aims of the project we have recruited a team of Business Support Advisers whose role is to offer support and advice to producers, whether they are already active in indirect selling or new to the enterprise, be responsible for quality control of produce and develop good relationships with the shops our producers are supplying. The first 13 BSAs are busy recruiting both new producers and retail outlets to the scheme. Additional BSAs will be recruited this year to increase the number of outlets by a further 75. A training programme is in place to ensure that the BSAs have the tools and confidence to do their job. To support the work of the BSAs, we have developed a Practical Handbook for indirect selling, with advice on Food Safety Management, Labelling Regulations, Packaging and Pricing, Business Agreements and Promotional Activity. We are currently developing an exclusive area on a new website for our members, which will consist of a package of supporting materials for Indirect Sales, including a bespoke product labelling programme, and be available to all Country Market members involved in the initiative. A Marketing and Promotional Campaign will support our activity in the Making Local Food Work project, with the aim of strengthening the Country Markets Ltd brand identity, widening the customer base, and recruiting more producers, advisers and retail outlets. We are currently developing materials to support the promotion and publicity of the project on radio and in the press, via exhibitions and national and regional events, and through online marketing and social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, a regular 'blog' and Flickr. Packaging and Merchandising Materials are being developed alongside this activity to maximise the impact of the Country Markets Ltd brand in shops. Market Research activity will underpin all our promotional activity to ensure that it is meeting the aims of the project and working to promote the new identity of Country Markets to the broader public.

MEET THE MLFW PROJECT TEAM            Wendy Norman is the Director       of the CML MLFW Project;      Assistant Finance Director for CML;      a member of Abingdon Country Market      and MA for Oxfordshire.            Pat van Zyl, a 'veteran' of Country      Markets, is the Project Strand Manager      overseeing the project and bringing      to it a wealth of experience and advice.      Pat is a past Chairman of CML;      she is currently Chairman of Worcestershire      CM Society and produces for Hagley and      Black Pear Country Markets.            Jane Stammers, coming from a very      varied background with a wide range      of experience, including food, marketing,      training, product and project management       (and most recently membership of Sheffield      Country Market!) has taken up the role of      Project Manager.                 Shirley Watson is the Project Administrator      and has a background in journalism and      gardening.

	To find out more about the MLFW project, or sign up for our bulletin, email mlfw@country-markets.co.uk,  or telephone Shirley Watson on 01246 261307.

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