Local Foods Suffolk

1st October 2013

Mik Bedson

Local Foods Suffolk

What is the project about? Local Foods Suffolk is a local food project which aims to engage with communities across Suffolk in the celebration of local produce to promote and sustain community activity

What does it do? It helps communities set up new local food projects, which could be anything from community allotments, orchards and community farm shops, to smaller projects like garden swaps, allotment lunch clubs or tools cooperatives. Any project involving the growing, sharing, eating or selling of local food can be considered

Local Foods Suffolk

Who can be involved? We’re happy to work with any member of any community in Suffolk, who has an idea they want to get off the ground, providing it supports communities to engage with local food in some way. It could be about any part of the delivery chain, from growing local food to cooking and eating it

How do we do that? The project has three development workers who together cover the whole of the county and will provide help, guidance, advice, support to those people and communities that want to develop a local food project with their community. We will also help source money for projects and may even be able to part fund projects directly.

What sort of projects?

We are open to supporting a range of projects ,depending on what is of interest to your community, some examples are: Local Community growing projects, including allotments, gardens and

orchards groups assisted to develop tools co-operatives Community lunches or regular lunch clubs Supper or cake clubs Celebrations and festivals of local food Community or scattered orchards Training and skills development workshops Community Supported Agriculture schemes including veg box schemes Chicken and pig keeping clubs, bee-keeping clubs Whole food cooperatives and bulk buying opportunities Farmers markets and community farm shops.

What we do

Community make contact your Local Foods Suffolk (LFS) Adviser

We will go out and discuss details and viability of the project

We use our expertise to signpost to relevant information and link

community to other partners/organisations

Discuss if a LFS capital grant is required and if the group need to

find other funding.

We work through the LFS application with the group

If successful with obtaining funding we will support delivery of the

project with experience and other training opportunities where

required (if unsuccessful we provide further guidance)

We will also look to promote the community’s activity, and aim for

sustainability of any project we support including linking in to the

Learning Exchange Network (LEN).

Recently supported projects....

Maidenhall Community Orchard www.transitionipswich.org.uk

• A group of Transition Ipswich participants

took over the rent of 2 disused allotments in

early 2011 with a view to plant fruit trees for

community enjoyment.

• We helped the group source grant-funded

heritage fruit trees from the Suffolk Traditional

Orchards Group, planted in December.

• We have recently provided funding for a

shared tool-shed which will be built on the

site this year, to provide storage for tools and

future produce, and space to press apples.

Recently supported projects....

Ipswich Pig Club: Acorn Antics www.ipswichpigclub.wordpress.com

• A group of Ipswich residents decided to start a pig-keeping club, to learn the skills to produce their own ethically-reared pork.

• We provided some research and mentoring support in the planning stages, and helped the group transport their first pigs from farm to slaughter.

• We funded some stock fencing and a gate to enclose the animals, and some equipment for an electric fencing system.

• The group is now on their fourth batch of pigs, which are happily helping plough a vegetable farm on their site in Rushmere.

• Anothet 6 pig clubs now started in Suffolk!

Recently supported projects....

Kersey Allotments www.kersey-village.co.uk

• A charitable trust sought help to regenerate their community owned allotments, a part of which had fallen into disuse due to flytipping.

• The group had already fundraised for a new borehole at the site.

• We funded hire of a skip to help plot holders and residents clear the site and bring 5 new plots into use. This has given more people in the village access to a growing space.

Recently supported projects....

Dennington Allotments

• An existing allotment society which wanted to provide a communal area for a community orchard, training space and meeting area.

• Land available, but very overgrown and in need of clearing

• Solution – SACRE funded the purchase of a brush cutter

• Brush cutter made available to other communities

Recently supported projects....

Halesworth In Transition Facebook Page

• Raising consciousness of the importance and advantage of local food provision in the Halesworth area

• Directory of all local food producers within 10 miles

www.halesworth.ws/localfood

• SACRE is paying for printing costs of directory.

Recently supported projects....

Sustainable Bungay http://www.sustainablebungay.com/

• Bungay Community Kitchen – Happy Mondays!

• Offers local food sourcing, cooking and eating opportunities

• SACRE funding kitchen equipment

Project Stats

Total beneficiaries to date is over 14,000

Training places over 300

Active volunteers over 600

Growing and food awareness projects over 40

Total local tool co-ops over 10

Community eating projects over 8

In addition we have supported the production of local food mapping and production of leaflets, one off food events and markets and maintained contacts with relevant local organisations offering support in the local food arena.

Contact Mik Bedson – mik.bedson@communityactionsuffolk.org.uk or localfood@communityactionsuffolk.org.uk