Growing Community Food Enterprises toolkit
Across the country the community food enterprise sector is growing, with a focus on supplying affordable food to their local area, supporting those experiencing food insecurity and bringing the community together. These include pantries and social supermarkets, food coops, community cafés, meal services and other local buying groups.
These enterprises are based on low-cost trading models, allowing service users to get more for less, while investing the money earned in providing good food for the project. They are also rooted in their local communities, formed by and for the people they serve. However, these enterprises face multiple challenges, from financial resilience to food supply. Sustain are working with 4 partner locations across England, to explore good practice, test solutions, and support projects to support their communities.
The Growing Community Food Enterprises toolkit was produced as part of Sustain’s Connecting Community Food Enterprises project and aims to support community food projects to develop more sustainably, with tips, tools and guidance.
The Growing Community Food Enterprises toolkit is a free, interactive set of tools, tips, guidance and resources. The toolkit aims to support community food projects to develop more sustainable financial and operational models, explore ways to diversify income, and provide useful ideas and resources.
Sustain's website includes all the information needed to get the most out of the toolkit, as well as communications support and a glossary of terms.
