News Archive

Sparsholt College has launched the Central Southern Food and Farming Academy to boost continued learning in agriculture and the development of new skills. Collectively, with leading employers from this sector, the College is looking to provide career opportunities for 15 and 16 year olds - who are interested in the agricultural food industry - with the focus of continuous professional development during a four-year programme.The new initiative includes knowledge development followed by a period of apprenticeship to acquire further skills and qualifications.The companies involved in the academy will provide apprenticeships on a ‘shared-basis’, enabling students to move between businesses to...

A new independent body to adjudicate between suppliers and retailers and protect against unfair practices has moved a step closer. Consumer Minister Edward Davey published the draft Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill and invited pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill by Parliament. Ministers are determined that suppliers should be protected against retailers passing on excessive risks or unexpected costs. The Bill seeks to establish an adjudicator to monitor and enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice who will be able to: • act as arbitrator in disputes between retailers and their direct suppliers• start investigations about potential breaches of the Code based on complaints...

The Making Local Food Work team from the Plunkett Foundation will be exhibiting at the food and music event of the year, The Big Feastival, in London at the beginning of July.Brainchild of Jamie Oliver, The Big Feastival brings together one of the most exciting line-ups of the summer with celebrity chefs, restaurants and food producers from across the country. With a focus on family, food and fun, the Big Feastival is a must-see for everyone! We’ll be manning a very special stand across the three-day festival, which takes place on Clapham Common in London 1-3 July 2011. For more...

Fresh Ideas Network is hosting an event aimed at showcasing and sharing ideas from organisations and projects currently involved in integrating sustainable food projects into social housing environments. Thriving Communities: Building Communities and Sustainable Food Projects will take place on Wednesday 22 June at the Lighthouse Conference and Media Centre in Brighton, East Sussex (http://www.lighthouse.org.uk), from 9:30am to 3pm. Organisations and companies: £60, Community Food Projects and Volunteers: Free. To register for a delegate place, visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1117204589The programme for the day will include: Presentations from ‘On the National Menu’ community food projects and national housing policy, (Town and Country Foundation,...

National drive launched to measure the real social and economic impact of the UK’s community food enterprisesA national drive has been launched in an attempt to measure the real social and economic impact of community food enterprises in the UK.Led by Making Local Food Work – a Big Lottery funded programme delivered by the Plunkett Foundation – the research project aims to address the current problem that exists throughout the entire third sector of measuring the true impact of social enterprises. The impact of social enterprises is notoriously hard to measure, given that their objectives are primarily social rather than...

      Plunkett Foundation’s Annual Seminar explores the challenges and opportunities presented by the Localism Bill for community food and other forms of rural social enterprisesWednesday 8th June 2011Church House Conference CentreWestminster, London, SW1P 3NZThe Localism Bill, entering its third reading in the House of Commons this week, is part of the Government’s proposal to devolve power from central and local government into the hands of communities themselves. Its potential is far-reaching and will affect all community groups, but the exact challenges and opportunities it might present aren’t particularly transparent. The Plunkett Foundation – a rural communities charity supporting community food and...

For those who were unable to attend our annual conference, Rooting community food in an enterprising future, on Thursday 12 May, a live stream was broadcast on our website which can still be viewed.A full detailed write-up is also available, along with downloadable versions of presentations from the day, from this link:http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/news/conferences.cfm  

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has published six location reports showing the scale and impact of local food webs in towns and cities across England.These reports are the first part of extensive research into how local food shapes and benefits local communities, economies and the countryside. The results show that local food webs can deliver a wide range of important social, economic and environmental benefits. The six reports from pilot locations published today are: Birstall, Hastings, Kenilworth, Knutsford, Sheffield and Totnes.Graeme Willis, Senior Local Food Campaigner at CPRE, says: “The new Field to Fork reports are the first findings...

 A campaign targeting pubs, cafes and restaurants has been launched to encourage them to use more British food during the Olympics.The Must Be British campaign is urging the catering industry to back Britain during the 2012 Olympics by increasing the amount of British food they serve up to the additional 300,000 visitors that will pour into the country for the games. Ruth Anslow, founding member of the campaign, explains: “This is a massive opportunity to give British-grown food a boost by getting it on menus everywhere during the Olympics, and making sure millions of pounds stays in the British economy.But...

Local food has made national headlines recently with the news that a third of British adults will be growing their own vegetables this summer in an effort to combat rising food costs in times of austerity. Although this is an encouraging statistic for the local food movement, there still remain two thirds of adults unable to participate due to lack of knowledge, skills and various perceived barriers such as not having access to an allotment. But allotments are not the only way of gaining access to locally-produced food. The national Making Local Food Work programme works with both urban and...