A Growing Trade

A guide for community groups that want to grow and sell food in our towns and cities

A Growing Trade A guide for community groups that want to grow and sell food in our towns and cities

Cover images Top: Volunteers at the Brockwell Park Surgery, Capital Growth, South West London Bottom: French beans for sale at the London Honey Festival 2011, from Cordwainer Gardens, East London

Contents
Notes Introduction The problem with our food system Communities growing their own Funding for community food growing Community food growing - growing up A Growing Trade Land issues for communities in cities growing and selling food Finding the plot Help with negotiating land Taking on land for commercial purposes Community food growing and the Allotment Act Selling produce from allotment land Using buildings for growing and selling food Planning permission Jobs, apprenticeships and volunteers Creating jobs through trading produce Selling community grown produce as part of a wider trading enterprise Apprenticeships: Growing a work force Volunteers Local investment in your venture Community Supported Agriculture Going private Finding customers and promoting what you do Market research Planning your route to market Unique selling points Communicating with your customers Urban Crops Salads, herbs and niche crops Honey Fish Processed produce The right market Selling directly to restaurants Distributing through a box scheme Selling from a market stall ii 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 6 7 7 9 9 9 13 14 14 18 18 21 22 23 27 28 29 29 30 33 35 35 35 35 40 40 44 45 Preparing produce to sell Safe soil Labelling Organic certification Packaging Weights and measures Permits and licensing to sell food from a market stall Public liability insurance What should you do with the money you make? Having a bank account Taking money Pricing Money: the who, how and what. What kind of enterprise? Business planning Unincorporated associations Incorporation Directory of case studies Avon Organic Group Ecoworks FARM:shop Food From the Sky Growing Communities Moffat CAN Organiclea The Wenlock Herb Garden Other interviewed projects and examples of community trading Funding and local food organisations Funding organisations Other Useful Organisations: National Regional support and local networks London Appendix 1: A guide to selling fruit and vegetables Appendix 2: Template invoice Appendix 3: A Basic Costing Spreadsheet References Photo credits Thanks 47 48 48 48 49 49 49 49 51 52 52 53 54 57 58 58 59 61 62 62 63 63 64 64 64 65 65 67 68 68 69 69 71 72 72 74 75 75

Contents

Notes
What kind of food? This report covers mainly fruit and vegetable cultivation and sales, as these are the most common crops produced in our town and cities. There are also fewer regulations governing their production and sale, than there are for livestock products. However, there are examples of animal products including honey, eggs and fish being produced and sold in an urban environment. Geography Many of the case studies in this report are based in London. This is because there has been major financial investment in community food growing projects in London in recent years. Also the large and diverse London population provides a significant market, allowing a number of pioneering urban food growing projects to develop. However, we are very keen to hear from projects outside of London. If you are part of a community food growing project that is trading, and you want to share your experience with others, please get in touch. Disclaimer The guidance offered in this report is an introduction to some of the issues to consider. To put your community trading ideas into practice we recommend getting professional advice. Suggestions for appropriate organisations to contact and documents to consult for professional and legal advice are highlighted throughout this report.

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Introduction

What can be more exciting and sustainable than buying vegetables and herbs grown by someone down the road? Having a chef serve fresh organic salad from a community food growing site harvested just hours before service? Buying delicious urban honey at a local farmers market? These are just some of the amazing examples of food that is being grown by local people in our towns and cities and sold to local people who are keen to buy it. A Growing Trade looks at the nuts and bolts of how this can happen and the opportunities for community food growing projects to trade more of their own produce and, in doing so, get some independence (from short-term grants) and contribute to the economic vitality of their neighbourhood.

The problem with our food system

Food production and distribution has always played an important role in the development of towns and cities in the UK, and food production shapes where and how we live1. However, in wealthy countries like the UK, the food supply to our urban areas is largely invisible, as our food is produced out of sight, and often out of the country. More recently, food is moving back into public eye, as is awareness of how it has been produced. Our food travels long distances down vulnerable and destructive supply chains by, sea, land and air to our plates. This is made possible by cheap fossil fuels, making our food system a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. There has also been a loss of local jobs, skills and expertise in food production, alongside low animal welfare standards, loss of wildlife and other damage to our environment2.

Communities growing their own

These concerns about the problems caused by how our food is produced might lie behind the resurgence, in recent years, of more people buying more local food and growing some themselves. At the same time as food gardening by individuals and families is on the rise, so are food growing projects by communities. These food growing projects are not only empowering people to take back control over how their food is produced and sold, they can also improve the appearance of the local environment and strengthen relationships in local communities by bringing life and activity to disused areas.

A Growing Trade

Weaving the production and distribution of food into the fabric of the urban structure brings food as close to the market place as possible. Produced in harmony with the seasons, and without dangerous chemicals, urban food travels the least distance, requires less energy for refrigeration and is at its peak in terms of freshness.

Funding for community food growing

In recognition of these factors, urban food growing projects been funded by a range of organisations. Significant investment has come from the Big Lottery, providing 50 million towards local food initiative through the Local Food Fund, disbursed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts3. The Big Lottery also invested in the Making Local Food Work programme, helping community food enterprises to become more successful and resilient through trading in food4. In London, the Capital Growth campaign for 2,012 new community food growing spaces by the end of 2012 is being run by Sustain and supported by the Mayor of London and the Big Lottery as part of the London Food Strategy5. Other cities are also adopting policies to support more community food growing initiatives, such as Brighton, Bristol and Manchester. In the 2011 publication Who Feeds Bristol? Bristol City Council learned that they have 2,000 hectares of land available in the city that would be suitable for urban food growing6. Smaller towns too are also taking action from MoffatCAN in the South of Scotland to Transition Penwith in Cornwall, all trying to create their own thriving local food economies and produce more of their own food.

Community food growing - growing up

Many, if not most, community food growing projects have been established with small-scale grant funding, to pay for tools and materials, or sometimes to pay the wages of full or part-time staff to coordinate the project. Developing at least some level of trading in food, services and/or or training can help projects continue after their grants come to an end. Perhaps more important, trading can also better embed them in their local communities by providing services that benefit local people and other local businesses.

Introduction

The market for food with good provenance is also riper than ever with more people wanting to know by who and where their food is produced. The elephant in the room (or perhaps the slug on the lettuce!) is whether food trading on a larger scale is viable for small community projects. In the UK, examples of economically successful urban food producers and robust community-led food trading are exciting and very promising, but not yet common. They are often working in spite of local circumstances, rather than being well supported by local people and local authorities and landowners. There are other challenges too, such as a lack of skills and knowledge in running a business, and being undercut by other competition. In their 2011 Small is Successful report, the Ecological Land Co-operative highlighted ten examples of profitable food growers all operating on sites of less than 10 acres7. We spoke to Rebecca Laughton, who conducted the research, and concluded that although the projects they interviewed served rural communities there is a lot of potential for similar initiatives to thrive in an urban environment. Indeed in some ways, this should be easier, as urban growers are closer to larger numbers of customers.

A Growing Trade
It is up to individual projects, of course, to decide how they want to operate. For some projects they may become a successful trading enterprise. For others the trading element may not be central but may complement other activities or be used for community outreach or fundraising, while for some projects trading will simply not be appropriate. What is clear is that community food growing and trading allows communities to take back control over how their food is produced and play an important part in a sustainable and viable food system. This report explores some trading models that are being pioneered by urban food growing projects from around the country and highlights some of the key features of how they operate. It aims to encourage, with practical guidance, more urban food growing projects to start, or expand their trading activities so that they can generate invaluable income and encourage local entrepreneurs and community-led enterprises.

A Growing Trade

Land issues for communities in cities growing and selling food

It is difficult to give general advice around access to land. Its down to the individual projects to make sure that they explore their own land issues, as circumstances are different in every case. Projects should always seek legal advice. Seb Mayfield, Capital Growth

Finding the plot

Access to land for growing food is often one of the biggest hurdles for urban food growing projects as land has a high value and is in demand for many different uses. It would probably be impossible for community food projects to operate if they had to buy the land or pay full rent on the sites that are being used. This means, though, that projects are often very imaginative when it comes to finding places to grow. Land has come from public parks, housing associations, private businesses, back gardens, allotment land and derelict sites awaiting development. Each will come with its own advantages and disadvantages, but for all of them there will be issues about long-term sustainability if a group wants to invest in and develop a site that will be an enterprise.

Help with negotiating land

The Landshare scheme, The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, and Capital Growth are initiatives that help community food growing groups get access to land for food production8. They work with public and private land owners to negotiate land or create opportunities for food growing on areas of land that are not being used. Some local authorities are also running their own initiatives to allow local people to have access to disused land. Glasgow City Councils Stalled Spaces Department deals with such sites in their city. They have already allowed a number of sustainable food-growing non-profit groups to use stalled sites around the city, and even offer grants and other help for groups to set up their projects9.

A Growing Trade

Taking on land for commercial purposes

There are examples of community market gardens that have successfully negotiated access to public and private land. However, there are lots of issues around the long-term use of the site and each situation appears unique. Indeed, several of the groups we interviewed did not want the details to be published in this report as they were concerned about sensitive issues around their land arrangements being published. The case study below shows an example of successfully negotiating land from a local authority to use as a community market garden. Organiclea told us that building relations with the community, using their local network and contacts and thinking strategically were key to their success.

Community food growing and the Allotment Act

The National Heart Forum has conducted extensive research into land use for community food growing groups10. They have concluded that: Generally land that is being used for community food growing activity falls under the Allotment Act, as this defines a certain size of land certain type of activity taking place on it and this is protected by allotment law Colin Mitchell, National Heart Forum Many landowners may feel uncertain about allocating land temporarily for community food growing because, if this is regarded as falling under the Allotment Act, there are restrictions on the landowners, such as a 12 month notice period, if they need to get the site back.

Case study
Organiclea and London Borough of Waltham Forest
Organiclea, a workers co-operative and community food enterprise in North East London, successfully negotiated a 10 year lease from the London Borough of Waltham Forest to take on a 12 acre former local authority plant nursery and glass house to create a community market garden. Organiclea have a standard lease agreement with the council, which was the result of a three year negotiation period with the council and local community. The lease is more than just a piece of paper, its community support for the project and you take time to build that up. Clare Joy, Organiclea Organiclea was also able to put pressure on the planning department to prioritise their case because the deadline for the Local Food Fund was an opportunity not to be missed. Good relations with the head of the council, through their network, bought their case to the attention of a senior official. The Organiclea staff are now working to secure the site beyond the 10 year period and are thinking creatively about how this can happen. They are developing plans to combine the glass house with a community energy scheme, and the requirements for this means there needs to be a 25 year lease. When securing land we need to be strategic and think in a multi-stranded way Clare Joy, Organiclea

Clare told us that there were a number of factors that helped them to secure the site. First, the council did not know what to do with the site so Organiclea was in a good position to provide a positive and realistic option. The Hawkwood site is also situated close to Epping Forest and so there was support from the local residents that using the site to grow food fitted in with the environment and conversation of the area.

Land issues for communities in cities growing and selling food

Section 22 (1) of the Allotment Act 192211 specifies allotments are: Around acre or less; Mainly used to grow fruit and vegetables (not flowers); Growing fruit and vegetables for consumption not for sale. Being defined as an allotment is also potentially a problem for the community food growing groups because, under allotment law, the site should not be used for commercial fruit and vegetable production.

Case study

The Avon Organic Group, Bristol

It is really shocking to see the amount of produce that is wasted from a conventional allotment site. So we encourage allotment holders to sell their surplus produce and understand that the produce has a value. Shannon Horfield, The Avon Organic Group

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This community group was established in 1984 and includes a wide range of local growers including gardeners, allotment holders, community groups and organic campaigners in Bristol. Collectively the group produce an abundance of crops which are for their own consumption. However, they also trade their surplus produce that comes from a range of sites. This provides an excellent way for them to raise their profile in the community and generates a useful income for some of the members. The value of income from the sale of produce varies between producers, from a minimum of 10, to a maximum of 150, which is a significant income for some of the members. Shannon Horfield

The producers receive 80% of the sale price with 20% going to the Avon Organic Group to cover their public liability insurance and other administrative costs.

It may be preferable, therefore, for landowners that have land that they want to use for food growing activities to make an agreement with a community group to use a site for commercial growing. A standard lease can be negotiated with the landowner, and sources of more information and support with this process are listed below.

Case study
The FARM:shop, London
The FARM: shop in Dalston East London is a unique enterprise that combines food growing with a retail space, caf and venue. The FARM:Shop has a rooftop that is used to keep chickens, has hydroponic and aquaponic systems indoors on two other floors to produce quantities of salad, fruit and fish, and also has a small back yard with a polytunnel and conventional growing beds. The FARM: shop aims to show that our buildings are suitable spaces to produce food and that it can be beneficial to combine this with conventional building uses such as running a shop or caf to sell that produce directly. This enterprise operates out of a previous disused shop, and they negotiated free use for one year with the local council while they got established. They are now earning enough of their own income to sustain their rent on the shop. Not only does the FARM:shop show the potential for indoor growing space to be used they also show how a disused shop can be bought back to a new use.

Selling produce from allotment land

It is possible, however, to sell allotment produce under some circumstances. An allotment cannot be used to support a business. But if an allotment holder can prove they have more than they can use themselves, it wont be regarded as illegal to sell the surplus. The Food Co-ops toolkit, taken from the Allotment Act19081950 section 22 (1) There are a number of examples of community food growing projects that are either on allotment land or distribute surplus produce from allotment holders. This includes The Avon Organic Group in Bristol, Ecoworks in Nottingham and Organicleas Cropshare scheme.

Using buildings for growing and selling food

While towns and cities are usually short of good food growing land, what they have plenty of is buildings and these can be used imaginatively for growing food. Some new food growing projects are making efficient use of disused building, while others are campaigning to incorporate food growing in to new building design and use. This can be attractive option if a food growing space is combined with a food sales outlet and opens up opportunities for non-conventional food growing systems to be used.

Planning permission
All the case study projects in this section have had dealings with their local planning department and have needed to get permission. In the case of Organiclea it was permission to manage the site on behalf of the council and in the other examples it was to get permission to put in necessary infrastructure. Having good relations with the planning department and within the council has been key for these groups. What is clear is that the commercial element of community food projects needs recognition in the eyes of the law and policies in place to support its development. There is hope that the new planning system will recognise the importance of community food growing and be able to make decisions in favour of new projects. Land issues for communities in cities growing and selling food 9

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Case study
Food From the Sky, London
Food From the Sky in North London grows food in containers on the roof of a Budgens franchise store. Having the growing space on the rooftop not only makes a previously disused space productive, but also fits with the supermarkets ethos of providing a facility for the local community. A staircase to the roof was built from scaffolding, and suitable arrangements were made for insurance, and for the safety of people working up there. Food From the Sky is a Company Limited by Guarantee, operated on a not for profit basis. The project was initiated by Budgens with the aim of creating a self-financing community food growing space, with any profits going back into the project. The produce is grown in containers on the rooftop and is on sale in the supermarket, so the growing site has a guaranteed market for its produce. Andrew Thornton, the owner of this Budgens store, granted permission to Food From the Sky for the rooftop to be used in this way, which is an informal agreement. The store does not own the free hold and is currently in negotiations with the freeholder to get a licence to secure the use of the rooftop. The project needed to get planning permission to put in the infrastructure, such as the polytunnel and fencing, which was granted. Although there were some local objections around safety, the project had the support of other council departments, who then worked with the planning department. When dealing with the planning department the importance of the good relations we had built across the council came in to play and made it easier for the planning department to understand what we are doing Andrew Thornton

Food from the Sky wants to be a template for other supermarkets to have their own community food growing space, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.

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Useful information
Organisations
Capital Growth The campaign for 2012 new food growing spaces in London. The campaign offers a package of support to new spaces and has expertise in negotiating land from large landowners. http://www.capitalgrowth.org/ capitalgrowth@sustainweb.org Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens This is a network of community led and managed projects, involving people, animals and plants. The Federation offer a range of advice and support, including on access to land for community groups. http://www.farmgarden.org.uk/ admin@farmgarden.org.uk Food Matters A not for profit organisation that has developed a planning advisory note with Brighton and Hove council to encourage the provision of new food growing spaces in developments. http://www.foodmatters.org/ Home Grown Community Owned Run by the Community Council of Devon providing help with developing community food producing projects http://www.hogco-devonrcc.org.uk/ info@hogco-devonrcc.org.uk Landshare Landshare brings together people who have a passion for home-grown food, connecting those who have land to share with those who need land for cultivating food. http://www.landshare.net/ info@landshare.net. Law Works LawWorks is a charity which aims to provide free legal help to individuals and community groups who cannot afford to pay for it and who are unable to obtain legal aid. http://www.lawworks.org.uk/ Local Authority Planning Portal Information about which Local Authority is relevant for planning in your area http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/wps/.../ genpub_LocalInformation National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners NSALG is the recognised national representative body for the allotment movement in the U.K. http://www.nsalg.org.uk/ natsoc@nsalg.org.uk Meanwhile Project Promotes temporary use of vacant buildings or land for a socially beneficial purpose http://www.meanwhile.org.uk eb@meanwhilespace.com Planning Aid for London Provides free, independent and professional town planning advice and support to communities and individuals who cannot afford to pay planning consultants in Greater London, including all outer boroughs http://www.planningaidforlondon.org.uk/ info@planningaidforlondon.org.uk Somerset Community Food Somerset Community Food aims to reconnect people with the social, health and environmental effects of growing, buying, preparing and eating local food. Their current work revolves around bringing more land in to production for community based growing. http://www.somersetcommunityfood.org.uk/

Reports
Good Planning for Good Food A report produced by Sustain that looks at how the planning system can support a more sustainable food system. The report includes a section on urban food growing. http://www.sustainweb.org/ publications/?id=192 Healthy Places Research carried out by the National Heart Forum to highlight areas of the law that could change to create healthier living environments. They have looked at the Allotment Act and community food growing. http://www.healthyplaces.org.uk/ Selling Allotment Surplus: Is it legal? Is it right? A report by Organiclea exploring the ups and downs of selling surplus food grown on allotment sites. (2007) http://www.organiclea.org.uk/resources/ publications/

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Jobs, apprenticeships and volunteers

Creating jobs through trading produce

The aspiration for a lot of community food growing projects is to be able to create paid jobs for the people involved. This values the time of the people involved and helps to ensure that the project has a long-term future. Many projects have received grant funding to pay for a project officer to run the site but find it difficult to know how they will be able to pay for that role once the funding has ceased. In the majority of projects that we interviewed those aiming for some level of financial independence took a diverse approach to their sources of income and were getting money from providing services, training and other trading activities. The case study on the right shows an example of a small but commercially minded community food growing space that received a small amount of funding to get established and is now generating enough income to pay for some of the time of the people involved through selling their produce. They have built up relations with a number of good customers and understand the market and the opportunities available.

Selling community grown produce as part of a wider trading enterprise

Some community growing projects want to trade their own produce as part of a larger trading model. They might want to run a vegetable box or food co-op which combines what they produce with other items that they are not able to grow. There are many challenges in opting for a larger trading model. The income that you need to generate will need be higher to make it viable. However in cases where it has worked the project is able to provide paid employment, opportunities for other producers and access to good local food for their community.

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Case study
The Wenlock Herb Garden, London
The Wenlock Herb Garden is a community run market garden based on a housing estate in East London. The project generates enough income through sales of their salad bags to pay a fair wage to a part-time grower to manage the site and also for some administration. The project was established in Spring 2010 on a 140m2 patch of disused land on a housing estate in Hackney. The commercial element was important to ensure that their project had a longterm future and that it was able to pay for the time of the people that were involved. If we want to grow food in the city, it is all very well to have an easy going, community group, cosy attitude to it, but if gardens are to remain open and growing and the urban agriculture issues are to get any place on the governments agenda then we need to get a bit more hard nosed about it. I know that many people might not like the commercial aspect of a project like Wenlock and think it would be better if residents could just come and help themselves to the crops. But I also think that Wenlock will be here in three or four years time and a lot of other growing spaces, sadly, wont be unless they put financial sustainability up there with environmental sustainability. Kate De Syllas

In the first growing season the income generated from salad production paid for Michael Turrisi, a local resident and part-time grower, to manage the site and make deliveries. The Wenlock Herb garden supplied over 200 kilos of cropped salad and herbs to two local restaurants and a local retailer and made additional sales to people on the estate. We pay 15 per hour for trained growers and also for paid administrative work. All the people involved also commit a considerable amount of time on a voluntary basis, although this was never something that was asked of people, just what they naturally did! Kate De Syllas

This year the project has focused on a more low maintenance approach to growing and on more unusual and profitable crops such as Japanese wine berries and edible flowers. Jobs, apprenticeships and volunteers 15

Case study
Growing Communities, London
Growing Communities is a pioneering and successful community-led box scheme in Hackney, which sells produce from local organic farmers, runs a farmers market, and also operates a number of commerical growing sites in East London. These are being developed into an urban patchwork farm managed by a network of apprentice growers who receive an income from the food they grow. Growing Communities employs over 20 local people part-time, paid for out of food sales from their box scheme and community trading model. The enterprise has around 1000 customers each week and is an example of an urban food growing project that is a viable enterprise. The Growing Communities model is being tested to see if it can be adopted by other community groups across the UK12. Julie Brown, who set up Growing Communities explained that from her experience urban food growing on its own is not economically viable but can be if it is part of a wider trading model.

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Jobs, apprenticeships and volunteers

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Case study
Growing Communities, London
Each growing season, Growing Communities recruits between two and six new apprentices who go through a formal application and interview process to take part in the apprenticeship scheme for that growing season. Each apprentice commits about two working days a week and goes through a carefully planned training programme that aims for specific results. The apprentices cover all aspects of running a market garden including organic horticulture, crop rotation, selling produce and coordinating volunteers. At the end of the scheme many of the apprentices go on to manage their own market garden, and the plan is for Growing Communities to make plots of land available to do so via the Patchwork Farm. The apprentice will grow an agreed amount of produce each week which they can sell to the box scheme. Any additional income they earn through direct sales to other buyers is theirs to keep.

Apprenticeships: Growing a work force

The majority of people involved in community growing projects are volunteers. The previous section show that there are paid jobs being created out of community food growing but that examples of this are quite rare. Even among those projects that have created jobs, volunteers still remain an important part of their workforce. Some projects run a formal training structure for long-term volunteers, creating opportunities to work in food growing and horticulture. This may take the form of an apprenticeship scheme, and some projects are building this into their structure as an invaluable part of how the enterprise might run. There are also opportunities to provide training or apprenticeships for people who might go on to get paid employment. City and Guilds have researched this and found that food growing projects can play a role in helping to improve peoples work skills and employability, and also help people with mental illness to regain confidence13.

Volunteers
Many people might not want to commit to an apprenticeship scheme and may just want to volunteer on a one off basis or have less time available but still want to help. It is a good idea to have systems in place to be able to be able to manage people that want to be involved. This is particularly important when operating as an enterprise, as time-consuming manual jobs can become activities that other people are happy to get involved in for the opportunities they provide to learn new skills and socialise. However, it is important to be aware of the implications of incorporating volunteer labour in to an enterprise model. It is essentially subsidising the costs of production and can be problematic to rely on long-term as, inevitably, some volunteers will stop volunteering at some stage. It is also important to remember that using volunteers is not cost-free, as their outof-pocket expenses should be covered and, if there are a lot of volunteers, co-ordination needs to be paid for. Paying volunteers A note of caution Volunteers can be liable for tax on some kinds of income. Make sure that volunteers only receive reimbursement for out-ofpocket expenses such as travel, and make sure that you collect a copy of the receipt14.

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Case study

Organiclea, Hawkwood Site, London

We would be unable to harvest some of our more labour intensive crops without the help of our volunteers, particularly if they are older as they find the activity relaxing and a break from the digging Clare Joy, Organiclea

Organiclea has a volunteer coordinator to help them manage volunteers and the activities undertaken by those volunteers while they are on the growing site. Co-ordination is essential as there can sometimes be as many as 40 volunteers on

site, and some volunteers will be regulars, while others may only have occasional time to offer. They also run Hawkwood volunteer days to maximise the sociability and effectiveness of the work. This helps to create a friendly, supportive and productive relationship with volunteers, and ensure that the right jobs get done, safely and well. Jobs include digging beds, clearing large areas of land and harvesting labour-intensive produce such as tomatoes, as well as book-keeping, delivering produce and marketing. Volunteers are rewarded with a free lunch and benefit from learning new skills, meeting new people and keeping active. This is physical exercise with a productive purpose, rather than pounding a treadmill!

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Useful information
Organisations
National Apprenticeship Service (including voluntary sector apprenticeships) Designed to increase the number of apprenticeship opportunities and provide a dedicated, service for both employers and learners. http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/ Soil Association: Organic Apprenticeship Scheme Two year work-based placement with an organic farmer or grower http://www.soilassociation.org/ Volunteering England Works to promote volunteering as a powerful force for change, both for those who volunteer and for the wider community http://www.volunteering.org.uk volunteering@volunteering.org.uk

Reports
Employment, Skills and Enterprise Scheme Details of employment initiatives to enable people claiming Jobseekers Allowance to participate in the Scheme http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-jsaregulations-2011.pdf Financing Apprenticeships National Apprenticeship Service covers the financial aspect of training apprentices depending on their age http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Employers/ Other-Questions.aspx#Question22 Food Co-ops Toolkit Includes information on recruiting and managing volunteers http://www.sustainweb. org/foodcoopstoolkit Roots to work: Developing employability through community food-growing and other urban agriculture projects City and Guilds report on developing employability through community food growing and other urban agriculture projects http://www.skillsdevelopment.org.uk/ researchprojects/urban_agriculture.aspx

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Local investment in your venture

Case study
Bungay Community Bee Keepers, Bungay
The Bungay Community Bee Keepers raised money to buy bee keeping equipment for their project by asking for donations from the local community who then become members. In the short-term the project wanted to be independent from grants and also wanted local people to value and be involved in their project. The group is approaching the second year of the five year plan that sets out how the group aims to grow and the income that they need to support this. The group calculate the amount of money needed for equipment or training and then works out how many people will need to pledge 20 to raise the money. During our first year 37 members were recruited. With subscriptions set at 20 we raised enough money to buy three National Hives with basic equipment, smocks and veils, insurance for two keepers, training for two more keepers and two nucleus of bees. In addition we had one1 hive, some equipment and some bees donated to us. Members chose to participate as much or as little as they wished. This meant that although we never saw some members they were still receiving regular updates by e-mail, reports of the monthly summer meetings and a copy of the end of year summary. Elinor McDowall, Bungay Community Bees16

To thrive and secure their long-term success, food growing projects need to engage the support of local people, businesses, landowners and local institutions. There are a number of community food projects that have secured money and commitment from their local community and customers from the start. These approaches are highlighted in the case studies below and show the opportunities that can be nurtured.

Community Supported Agriculture

The Soil Association is the leading organisation promoting Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in this country. For them, Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between farmers and the local community, providing mutual benefits and reconnecting people to the land where their food is grown. Soil Association15. CSAs thrive on the relationship between the producer and the customers and means that your customers/ members will buy

Members received a number of benefits such as being invited to meetings and events and the potential for a share in the honey harvest, but this is not guaranteed.

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produce from you, or invest in your business because they value what you are doing. Many CSAs link people with larger, rural farms but it can work on a smaller scale and in urban areas, not least because it is easier for people to visit their local food growing space. There are lots of different types of examples of memberships and community ownership schemes, some of which have generated hundreds of thousands of pounds. The case study on the right shows how this can work on a smaller scale.

Case study
Food From the Sky and Budgens Supermarket, London
Andrew Thornton, who runs the Thorntons Budgens franchise supermarket in north London, has invested around 10,000 to establish Food From the Sky and is encouraging other supermarkets and businesses to do the same. I am not looking for a return as the investment demonstrates the stores values Andrew Thornton, Thorntons Budgens

Going private
Perhaps the main advantage of obtaining funding from private, commercial sources is that an initiative is likely to get more money, and faster, than from approaching people in the community. The money may also come with a package of very useful commercial expertise, and land as the case study on the left shows.

For Thontons Budgens the benefits of having their own roof top community growing space include: A lot of positive PR, which has given them greater influence in the supermarket industry. Great community involvement and energy New and cheap ways of team building for the supermarket staff Incredible and unique products in their store Greater knowledge about food production for supermarket managers

Food from the Sky aims to be self financing from the sale of produce which is available to buy in store.

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Case study
Adopt a Plot London Food Link
London Food Link is a sustainable food network in the capital. One of its most recent initiatives is connecting community food growing spaces from the Capital Growth18 project with local restaurants and caterers in the Ethical Eats network18. This Adopt a plot scheme asks local restaurants to make a small financial contribution to the community spaces in return for a share of the produce. Melior Street, St Mungos and The Table Caf, London Melior Street is a community garden in central London that is managed by St Mungos a charity that works with homeless people. In addition to their plot at Melior Street St Mungos also have a much larger food growing site six miles away in Tottenham. London Food Link have worked with St Mungos to successfully link then with a buyer with the aim of having a long-term profitable relation for both parties. Melior Street is now working with The Table Caf in Southwark. It is early days but the match is working well for both parties and they are currently exploring how it can develop. Shaun Alpine-Crabtree the head chef at the table has given a list of crops that they are interested in purchasing in the next season. The Table are currently paying an average of 150-200 each week for produce that is income for St Mungos. In the early stages the community gardens that I work with do not think they are in a position to sell their produce to restaurants. They generally do not think they have enough produce to be able to meet a commercial kitchen demand. I work with them to understand the value of their produce and that certain buyers can be flexible and accommodating. In general the restaurants that we work with have several things in common, they all cook seasonal food, change their menus regularly and source food with strong providence. They also see it as a positive way to engage and work with local people which is a change from their normal customers. Eloise Dey, Capital Growth

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Useful information
Organisations
Community Farm Bristol Community Farm launched a community share offer, inviting members of the public to invest in the farm http://www.thecommunityfarm.co.uk/ Community Supported Agriculture Partnership between farmers and the local community, providing mutual benefits and reconnecting people to the land where their food is grown. http://tinyurl.com/sacsa11 bhewson@soilassociation.org Co-operatives UK Co-operatives UK is a national trade body that campaigns for co-operation and works to develop co-operative enterprises. They offer support and advice on community ownership and structures. http://www.uk.coop/ Making Local Food Work Enabling communities to get local, seasonal produce directly from the farmer http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/ info@makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk

Report
Community Ownership and Management of Assets Report on the scale of activity, the benefits and the factors that support it happening http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/communityownership-and-management-assets

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Finding customers and promoting what you do

Access to land for growing food is often one of the biggest hurdles for urban food growing projects as land has a high value and is in demand for many different uses. It would probably be impossible for community food projects to operate if they had to buy the land or pay full rent on the sites that are being used.

This means, though, that projects are often very imaginative when it comes to finding places to grow. Land has come from public parks, housing associations, private businesses, back gardens, allotment land and derelict sites awaiting development. Each will come with its own advantages and disadvantages, but for all of them there will be issues about long-term sustainability if a group wants to invest in and develop a site that will be an enterprise.

There are some things people will pay more for and some things they arent interested in buying Kate De Syllas, The Wenlock Herb Garden

Market research
Growers can sometimes be wary of the concept of market research, but without it you risk having a lot of produce that no-one wants to buy. It does not have to be an expensive or difficult process. It can be as simple as chatting to local people, restaurants and other outlets to find out what they would like to buy. It is essential to get a good grip on this early on to maximise what you are able to do. As a buyer I would recommend that it is better to have larger quantities of just a few items e.g. a whole plot of chard rather than a couple of bunches Oliver Rowe, Chef, Getting Down to Business conference 2010 Crop planning means finding a balance between crops the group want to produce and what is suitable for the site you have, with what customers want to buy. Growers wanting to sell more commercially should identify a gap in the market and then think how they can meet this. It is also good to research food trends and avenues for niche crops as it is good to stay aware of what might be in demand or what unique sale you could offer. Some techniques that projects have used to do so include: Conducting a local survey of potential customers to gauge their interest. This might be local residents, businesses or a combination. Its a good idea to target customers that you realistically think might want to buy produce from you. Finding a customer first and growing to meet that order. This method works particularly well when working with a restaurant or caterer. For example, Organiclea invited a number of local chefs to their Hawkwood growing site so that the chefs could understand where the produce was coming from and talk directly to the growers about their requirements. Its also good to target a particular customer that might want to purchase something more unusual and that might be difficult for them to find. Knowing who your competition is. Its good to be aware of this so that you can better define what makes you different. There may also be opportunities to collaborate with your competition so that you can provide complementary products.

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Planning your route to market

As well as researching the type of customer that you might want to supply you also need to get a realistic idea of what quantity you are able to supply and how regularly, and also what the transport options are and their costs. Your sales might just be ad hoc and its good to be honest about this. If your produce is good enough buyers will be interested and the ad hoc element might also suit them.

Unique selling points

Remember that the day you think that all you are doing is selling salad, you have lost your way. What your customers are paying for and are interested in is not just vegetables but all those additional values that are unique to what you do. These are your unique selling points and might includes several of these features:

community grown produce is generally top quality. you may be offering unique products not available elsewhere (e.g. unusual salad leaves or herbs) unbeatable freshness i.e. produce can literally be harvested and delivered within the hour locally grown produce can be free from pesticides and herbicides (think about using this term instead of organic, which you can only use if you are certified see below) there is a very short and clear story about how each product is grown Buyers/ customers can put a name and a face to the grower, which is a rarity

We wanted to really push how local this fruit was: not just from Sheffield, but from this bit of Sheffield, from this street. Super local. It really helps, if youre going to sell it, to make it look amazing. Tom James, The Chutney Project, Abundance Sheffield

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Communicating with your customers

How you communicate with your cutomers depends on who they are and what is most appropriate for you both. Below are a number of communications methods and a combination of them is worth considering for your particular circumstances. Branding Creating a brand might sound sinister and unnecessary but it how you represent your organisation. Visually how you choose to package, label and promote yourselves are all part of your branding and this influences your customers decisions. Community food growing projects have got an amazing story to communicate about how they operate and the produce that they have grown. Branding your project simply means making decions about how to show this. It will mean developing materials such as a logo, labels, images, colours,and written material that represent you and gives a professional message to your customers. Providing samples Many potential customers might be wary of purchasing community grown produce and they might prefer to stick to more conventional outlets because they feel unsure about the reliability of buying this produce. Providing samples and informaiton about your project to customers is a great way for customers to see the quality of the produce. In general the projects that we spoke to found that the quality of their produce was one of their main selling points, so people need to see it and taste it before commiting to buying it. Leaflets and posters This is a more traditional way to promote what you do but it is still a good way to make your local community aware of what you are doing. Having a stall at local events is another really good way to raise your profile and talk to people locally about what you are doing.

The World Wide Web Web presence Having a web presence is important and is a great way to tell people about what you are doing, recruit volunteers, and let people contact you. These days you can get a web presence really easily and for free. The options below show alternatives to setting up a website which can be costly. Setting up a blog A blog is a great alternative to a website and is used by a lot of community projects already. The benefits are that They are free and take minutes to set up You can have your own url It is easy to upload photographs and videos You can create a unique lay out You can link to other social media tools such as Twitter.

Some good blog websites to get started are www.wordpress.org www.blogger.com https://www.tumblr.com/ Creating a Facebook page A Facebook page is another popular way for groups and community organisations to get web presence for free. Creating a Facebook page has many of the same benefits as a blog but means that your page has to follow the generic format of Facebook. This lay out might be restrictive. On the plus side Facebook has many users worldwide and is a great way to tap in to other local networks and make contact. Twitter Love it or hate it, it has lots of benefits but it takes a little bit of time to get used to its format. It is increasingly used by many restaurants and shops to heighten their profile and communicate informally with their customers.

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Finding customers and promoting what you do

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Useful information
Organisations
Business Link Free advice on marketing, sales and business opportunities http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/ Facebook for marketing A guide to setting up and using a Facebook page to give your enterprise a voice http://www.facebook.com/FacebookPages Fresh Management Solutions Ltd A business consultancy that has experience in working with social enterprises and community food organisations. They provide a wide range of advice on marketing, finance and business planning. http://www.freshmanagementsolutions.co.uk/ The Social Business They have a free section to help develop a business plan for a social enterprise including marketing. http://thesocialbusiness.co.uk/ rob@socialbusinessconsulting.co.uk Twitter for marketing A guide to using Twitter to connect your enterprise to customers, share information and build relationships http://business.twitter.com/

Reports
Knead to Know A publication created by The Real Bread Campaign that advises people on baking bread in their local community. The guide has a lot of useful information on marketing and using the press to your advantage. http://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/knead_ to_know/ Making Local Food Work Social Business Toolbox to help food-based social business http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/about/ toolbox/Toolbox.cfm

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Urban Crops

Bearing in mind the points from section 5 about making sure you know your market, below are some example of crops that work well in an urban environment. The key factors are that these crops are high yielding, can be produced in a small amount of space and there is a good market for them.

Case study
Peppers by Post in West Bexington, Dorset
This home business is run by Michael and Joy Michaud who specialise in producing chilli peppers. As the name of the business suggests the produce is sold by mail order as chillies are sold in small quantities that are light, so are easy to deliver. Chillies are always sent out the same day they are picked so, customers receive their chillies just the day after they were growing on the plant. Chilli peppers are also an example of a crop that is not commonly produced in the UK. The Sustainable Restaurant Association highlights the growing demand from their restaurants in finding local sources of more exotic crops to improve their environmental credentials. There is a growing pressure on restaurants to reduce the food miles on their customers plates. Being able to buy exotic and rare items from a local community growing space is an excellent way for restaurants to support local food The Sustainable Restaurant Association.

34 A Growing Trade

There are opportunities to cultivate these more exotic crops in our towns and cities where there is a market for these items from local ethnic groups, and from restaurants serving global dishes such as Mexican, Japanese and Indian food.

Salads, herbs and niche crops

Generally salads, speciality leaves, edible flowers and herbs are successful crops, as they suit the condition in urban areas and, because they are delicate and highly perishable, benefit from being grown very close to market. These crops can generate good income and there is a high demand for high quality and really fresh produce. Niche crops are also a good idea, particularly if they are difficult to get hold of in the UK. There are lots of examples of crops that cannot be bought from regular suppliers so there are opportunities to produce exclusive items. Examples of these include: Mixed salad bags Herbs Heritage varieties Soft fruit Edible flowers Mushrooms Exotic items such as chillies, oriental greens etc.

Case study
Urban Harvest, Birmingham
Newly launched Urban Harvest in Birmingham are a social enterprise that run a membership scheme where local households sign up to have surplus fruit harvested from trees in private gardens. They ask local people to sign up as members and have a sliding scale of membership rates. All members get a share of the processed foods in exchange for their fruit and the membership income supports the project costs of running the scheme.

Honey
Interest in urban bee keeping is reviving, not only among individuals but also communities. Capital Bee19 in London is training and establishing 50 community bee hives in London as part of the Capital Growth project. Producing honey involves a small amount of labour relative to the rewards harvested and has high commercial value. It is increasingly common to find local honey for sale at local farmers markets and food events but quite rare to find it on sale in a local shop or on the menu in a restaurant. This might be a gap in the market for local and sustainably produced honey which community enterprises might exploit.

Case study
Pop up pickle, London
In London the Capital Growth campaign has been organising Pop up Pickle events that take place in commercial kitchens. Groups come along and learn how to preserve their produce and leave with a product that they are able to sell, at a market stall or local farmers market, to raise money for their project. Sessions so far have resulted in delicious and unique pesto and chutney.

Fish
Aquaponics is a new food production system in this country (though it is more common elsewhere) and it is now being pioneered by a number of community food growing projects across the UK. See the case study on Moffat CAN on page 36.

Processed produce
Processing produce is a great way to add value and it is also very helpful when there are gluts of produce around. It also means lengthening the season so that you could have local produce for sale for longer, for example, pickled cucumbers or tomatoes in oil. Some community food projects have are even processing and harvesting excess urban fruit from parks, housing estates and peoples back gardens. Urban crops 35

Case study
MoffatCAN, Moffat, South Scotland
MoffatCAN has established an aquaponic and hydraponic growing system which combines fish farming with salad production. Tilapia fish are farmed in a series of fish tanks that also connects to the salad growing containers with a flow of nutrients and cleaning benefits running between them. MoffatCAN is currently market-testing the fish with local customers and has had its first successful customer, selling 30 fish to a local hotel to serve as part of a food festival. The fish was complimented on its freshness as it was served on the plate several hours after it had been swimming in the tank. The fish were harvested, put into ice and delivered to the hotel on foot. MoffatCAN is now looking for more customers and refining the business plan, having decided to focus on selling to trade to increase the amount sold and reduce the work involved.

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Urban crops

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Useful information
Organisations
Aquaponics UK This not for profit organisation supports the development of aquaponic systems in the UK. http://www.aquaponics.org.uk/ charlie@aquaponics.org.uk City Harvest This website shows the benefits associated with urban agriculture, aiming to strengthen and develop the movement in the UK http://www.sustainweb.org/cityharvest/ cityharvest@sustainweb.org Crop planning The Soil Association has produced a guide to crop planning and rotation http://www.soilassociation.org/ braskin@soilassociation.org Glebelands Consultancy Glebelands Market Garden is a pioneering urban market garden based in Sale, Manchester. They offer consultancy on a range of issues around food production and retail. http://www. glebelandsmarketgarden.co.uk/ Organic Growers Alliance This membership based organisation supports organic horticulture throughout the UK. They have an online forum that can be used to ask specific questions about organic food growing. http://www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk/ Peppers by Post A mail order company specialising in chilli peppers. A great example of a crop that could be produced in our towns and cities. http://www.peppersbypost.biz/ RUAF Foundation The RUAF Foundation is an international network of seven regional resource centres and one global resource centre on Urban Agriculture and Food Security. http://www.ruaf.org/ The Golden Company A social enterprise in London that trains young people in bee keeping skills and trades their own honey and other honey and bee products. http://www.thegoldenco-op.com/ Wild Forest Foods A small London based company that grows a variety of specialist vegetable and salad crops supplying local restaurants and shops. They have two urban growing sites. http://www.wildforestfoods.co.uk/ office@wildforestfoods.co.uk

Books and reports

Garden Organic Garden Organic offers specific advice on growing crops using polytunnels http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/pdfs/ Polytunnel-Factsheet.pdf Growing Communties Food Zones is the manifesto Growing Communities believes we can use to produce food in our cities. http://www.growingcommunities.org/about-us/ food-zone/manifesto/ Growing Green: Organic Techniques for a Sustainable Future by Jenny Hall and Iain Tolhurst A guide for those who want to learn about stock-free organic gardening techniques Polytunnel Handbook by Andy McKee and Mark Gatter A guide to polytunnel use from planning purchase to harvesting the rewards Salad Leaves For All Seasons by Charles Dowding A compendium of practical methods for growing salads throughout the year Valuable Vegetable: Growing For Pleasure and Profit by Mandy Pullen Experience of building a successful smallscale vegetable garden and box scheme

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Routes to market

This section looks at how to bring the produce to where it will be sold or consumed in the most effective and efficient ways. Growers need to find outlets that are appropriate for them, as the logistical knots of distributing produce can be a real challenge. The case studies below highlight some of the different opportunities for trading.

The right market

There is a vast spectrum of potential buyers (from people on a low income to top restaurants) keen to purchase locally grown produce from a community food growing enterprise. It is up to each project to decide which customers are right for them. Where possible, a range of outlets and different types of customer might be useful to diversify your trading so you do not rely too heavily on one customer. Do not expect people to buy from you just because of who you are. Although this is a vital element of how you promote your produce, people still expect high standards, quality and reliability.

Selling directly to restaurants

Groups need to be aware that chefs want reliability and great quality produce. There are some things they will pay more for and some things they arent interested in. Also, restaurants and retailers follow food fashion. Dont expect that this years most fashionable herb will be in demand in the same quantity next year. Groups need to stay ahead of what happens in the food sector as a whole. Kate De Syllas, The Wenlock Herb Garden Increasing numbers of community food growing projects are approaching interested restaurants and directly negotiating sales. There is a high demand from some restaurants for ultralocal produce and unusual varieties of fruit and vegetables that they may not be able to get from any other suppliers. Other advantages of these direct sales include: The option to sell small quantities at a high price. Arranging orders in advance, so there is a guaranteed market for the produce that is being grown. Having one delivery point Being able to deal with gluts, as chefs can be creative with ingredients Not having to prepare the produce, including washing it, as this will be done in their kitchens

Restaurants like exclusivity, and this can be problem if you are targeting other restaurants in the same area Michael Turrisi, Head grower, The Wenlock Herb Garden 40 A Growing Trade

Case study
The Castle market garden to the Duke of Cambridge organic gastro pub, North London
The Castle Climbing Centre in Hackney has three food growing areas. One is a shared community garden for members of the local community. The second is an area of private micro allotments. And the third is a 100m2 urban market garden that is one of Growing Communities Patchwork Farms. Ida Fabrizio and Sophie Verhagen who manage the site (which is certified organic) grows and sells a mixture of salad and herbs. Those that are surplus to the requirements of the Growing Communities box scheme are sold directly to a number of local restaurants. Ida sells to the Duke of Cambridge organic gastro pub in Islington. She picks the produce and packs it into reusable, sealable and labelled clear plastic bags, and delivers it by bicycle trailer once a week. Ida is paid cash on delivery, and the produce is washed at the restaurant by the kitchen porters. The kitchen has a daily changing menu and skilled chefs can accommodate whatever is available in gluts or if any of the produce is slightly damaged. For example, slightly torn rocket can be used for pesto, or celery leaves can be a garnish or unusual addition to a salad. In fact it stimulates the chef into thinking creatively about the best way to serve certain items and creates a demand for new herbs that they have not used before. The kitchen, led by head chef Sara Berg, is happy to receive a diverse and unusual selection of produce in small quantities that they are unable to get from their larger wholesale suppliers. They are also able to deal directly with Ida, who understands their requirements and can grow any particular items that they request. The restaurant has a local buying policy, so to be able to purchase salad that is grown three miles away is something they can promote and which their customers appreciate. This is some of the best salad that I have come across. It is so fresh and unusual in terms of the mixture of leaves. Its great to talk to Ida each week about what is going to be coming in Sara Berg, Head Chef, The Duke of Cambridge

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Case study
Salop Drive Market Garden, Sandwell, West Midlands
Salop Drive Market Garden is a three-acre working market garden run by Tim Botfield, a horticultural therapist, and his colleague. The garden was originally developed by a charity that works with disabled people to provide therapeutic activities and developed into receiving funding from the local Primary Care Trust (PCT) to provide services for local vulnerable people. The site developed from a derelict allotment site over a period of five years and they now sell a weekly veg box, which contains mostly their own produce, and can have up to 60 customers during peak season. They also sell any surplus produce to a local restaurant located a mile down the road, and take orders in the winter on new baby plants that they sell to customers in spring. The box scheme charges 4 a week to customers which is a price that they subsidies. Their PCT funding is drawing to an end next year which means they are going to be assessing their pricing to try and make the box scheme self sustaining. We have to subside the cost of the vegetables that we produce as we are in a low income area. We are now faced with the challenge of how to make this venture sustainable if our funding runs out. Tim Botfield, Salop Drive Market Garden

Reliability, high standards and professionalism is important with all customers but is absolutely vital to ensuring a long-term and successful relationship with caterers and those working in the restaurant industry. Traceability and assurance that the produce is safe to eat it also a particular concern when selling to restaurants. Traceability is a big concern for restaurants, and they need to be confident that the produce they are buying is from a safe source. Restaurants might be hesitant to buy community grown produce for this reason Shaun Alpine-Crabtree, The Table Caf This adds weight to the argument for choosing certification (see section 8) as it shows that produce is grown to a certain standard and gives confidence to the buyer.

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Case study
Ecoworks, Nottingham
Ecoworks employs Nicola Hinton, a parttime member of staff, to coordinate their local veg box scheme. The box scheme comprises 80 to 90% of their own produce during high season and they also purchase produce from other local growers, market gardens and allotment holders, making it an excellent outlet for other local growers. In addition, they have established a growing agreement with one local biodynamic farm to grow a range of produce which was difficult to find locally (e.g. garlic, swede) or was not being grown on Ecoworks land due to the length of growing time or rotation. Ecoworks veg boxes (actually provided in bags) are delivered weekly to one of eight collection points across the city. Each collection point is carefully chosen based on location and accessibility. Ecoworks currently provides fruit and vegetables to 60 to 80 customers each week, which is impressive given their site is just 400 m2. Box numbers are provided at the start of the week and produce is agreed for delivery on Thursday. Bags are packed on Thursday and delivered Friday morning. Ecoworks HQ community room is used for storage and packing. Ecoworks use re-usable tote bags to deliver produce. These bags are individually labelled with the customers name and collection point, and are colour coded to help staff and volunteers determine the different sizes easily. Customers receive a weekly newsletter which gives information on where produce has come from, as well as Ecoworks and local community activities and events, and recipes to help customers make best use of the seasonal produce.

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Distributing through a box scheme

The scale of box schemes varies from projects having around just 10 regular customers to others such as Growing Communities who have nearly 1000 customers.

Case study
The Avon Organic Group, Bristol
Shannon Horfield coordinates selling surplus produce for the members of the Avon Organic Group, which comprises a number of local allotment holders and local growers in Bristol. The group has a regular market stall at Bristol Farmers market where they combine the sale of their surplus produce. The producers are asked to prepare their produce for sale before they come, so all produce arrives already weighed. Members of the group bring their produce to the market stall and fill in a form about what they have brought. The produce is then inspected to make sure that all the produce is of a high enough standard to sell. The produce is priced in line with the other stall holders at the farmers market. Initially, the group reported that their producers had a tendency to undersell their produce, meaning that they were not covering their costs of attending. They have since adjusted their prices to return better value for the care and effort that goes into the growing. At the end of the market the money is totted up, with the producer getting 80% of the selling price. The 20% kept by Avon Organic Group covers the 30 stall rental and goes towards their public liability insurance. The group also pays 100 per year membership to the National Market Traders Federation, which allows them to sell goods to the public as a market trader. Any additional money goes towards funding the groups other activities such as events. 44 A Growing Trade

Selling from a market stall

Selling directly from a market stall has a number of advantages, as it is a simple way to test the market for your produce, and you can run a stall as and when you have produce to sell. The main benefit, though, is the community outreach opportunities from being at a local market. Being visible makes it easier to engage people and tell them about what you are doing.

Case study
Little Growers, Surrey
Little Growers is a horticultural education charity that works with schools across the UK to support food growing initiatives. Little Growers is currently working closely with four local schools to establish local market stalls in partnership with the Co-operative supermarket. Initially with our projects we focused on facilitating the children to be able to grow their own produce and outdoor learning. However since the start of year we have been working with our four local projects to take this a step further and encourage them to harvest their produce and sell it at their own collaborative market stall in partnership with their local co-op supermarket. The day was a huge success. The children took the lead in selling, pricing and weighing all produce and raised over 300 to sustain their gardening projects for the coming year. Heather Pearl, Little Growers.

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Useful information
Organisations
Country Markets Ltd Membership-based co-operative social enterprise http://www.country-markets.co.uk/ Ethical Eats Network of restaurants and catering businesses in London that care about sustainability http://www.sustainweb.org/londonfoodlink/ ethical_eats/ Farmers Markets List of British farmers markets inspected & certified by National Farmers Retail & Markets Association http://www.farmersmarkets.net London Farmers Markets Offering fresh local food to Londoners every week http://www.lfm.org.uk/ The Sustainable Restaurant Association Not-for-profit organisation helping restaurants become global leaders in sustainability http://www.thesra.org/

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Preparing produce to sell

There are fewer requirements for selling fresh fruit and vegetables than there are for selling processed foods such as preserves and animal products. However, there are legal requirements that have to be complied with when selling any food so it is a good idea to contact your local trading standards office and environmental health office for advice and information. This section is a guide to some of the main issues you might want to discuss with them.

Safe soil
People are often concerned that food produced in towns and cities may be polluted or contaminated by toxins in the air and soil. This point is particularly important when growing food to sell as some customers might be worried about their food not being safe. However, there is little evidence to show that air pollution affects urban grown produce any more than produce grown in the countryside. In any case, any dirt on the surface of produce can simply be washed off. The chemical pesticides that are used on non-organic produce can sometimes leave residues inside the produce that cannot be washed off. On soil, it is recommended that a soil test is carried out to check for any toxic contaminants. In the unlikely event of problems being found, these can be resolved through creative solutions such as growing in containers and raised beds using purchased top soil or compost. Some urban food growing sites are even growing food using these techniques on areas of concrete.

Labelling
Country Markets Ltd, who are part of the Making Local Food Work programme advise their stall holders to include the following information when they are selling fruit and vegetables. Name of item Date harvested Name and address of producer Instructions for care/ storage e.g. if the items need to be washed or refrigerated. Price20

Organic certification
Many urban food growing sites produce food in line with organic gardening principles. When produce is for personal consumption or swapped with others, such principles can be taken on trust. But when growing produce to sell, any claim that food is organic must be proven through certification, which has its own costs and considerations. Organic certification guarantees that a product has been produced to a certain standard and confirms this to buyers as well as adding value to the crops. 48 A Growing Trade

Projects that have chosen to get certified through the Soil Association organic certification scheme often feel it is necessary to legitimise and add value to their product, and they also want to support the organic standard. However, others particularly those operating at micro-scale - find the process too expensive and not suited to how urban food growing projects operate. Some projects choose to use other recognised accreditation schemes such as the Wholesome Food Association, or the Climate Friendly Food approach, which is under development21. IIt is strongly felt that there is a need for a certification process suited to community gardens and how they operate. This will make it easier for growers to trade their produce as it give confidence to buyers that what they are purchasing is of a high quality and comes from a safe source. It is important to not make any organic claims unless the produce is approved by the Soil Association or other organic certifying authorities. An alternative, suggested in The Country Markets Ltd handbook for their producers, is that produce can be labelled as no chemicals used.22

be exchanged after a delivery is made to cut down on packaging. Many veg box schemes prefer to use bags rather than boxes (either recycled plastic carrier bags or cotton shopping bags). There are more requirements governing the packaging of processed produce, such as jams and chutneys. First, the kitchen that is used to prepare these needs to be registered with the local authority as a commercial kitchen. More information is also required in terms of the labelling and the jars that are used. It is best to contact your local environmental health team in your local authority for more information.

Weights and measures

Trading standards laws set requirements on how our food is sold and this includes how it is weighed and measured. There are specific requirements for potatoes, soft fruit, and bunched vegetables (see Appendix 1 report for information on how produce should be sold).

Permits and licensing to sell food from a market stall

Anyone wishing to sell items from a market stall in the street must first obtain a Street Trading Consent from the local council which will cost a certain amount per year. If you are planning on running a market stall on private land you need consent from the owner 23

Packaging
Packaging is particularly important with delicate and highly perishable items like herbs and salads. Generally it is good practice to not wash these items before they are packaged as this prolongs their shelf life and stops them from prematurely spoiling. Washing the produce is also regarded as processing, so you would need to have suitable facilities to do this that may be inspected by your local Environmental Health Officer. It is also worth thinking about containers to store highly perishable items after they are harvested. Reusable crates can

Public liability insurance

If you are selling produce regularly from a market stall you might want to think about getting public liability insurance. This covers you against any injuries or damage claims that might arise with any of your customers visiting the stall, for example if something fell on a customer. Membership of the National Market Traders Federation covers your public liability insurance and has other benefits.

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Useful information
Organisations
Country markets handbook Country Markets Ltd produce a handbook full of useful guidance for producers selling produce at their markets. A lot of the material is for home producers and small businesses. www.country-markets.co.uk Environmental Health Contact your local authority for your local environmental health office. This is essential when selling food. www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/ Localcouncils/index.htm National Market Traders Federation Representing interests of market traders the NMTF has an annual membership that covers public liability insurance. www.nmtf.co.uk Organic certification The Soil Association is the largest organic certification body in the UK. www.soilassociation.org Other certification schemes Wholesome Food Association www.wholesome-food.org Climate Friendly Food www.climatefriendlyfood.org.uk

Reports
Food Co-ops Toolkit Guide to providing high quality produce at an affordable price www.sustainweb.org/ foodcoopstoolkit/produce The guide also has information on food hygiene www.sustainweb.org/foodcoopstoolkit/ foodhygiene And on how to register your food premises used for storing, selling, distributing or preparing food www.sustainweb.org/ foodcoopstoolkit/registering Plus how to apply for a licence for a stall or outdoor market www.sustainweb.org/ foodcoopstoolkit/street_trading_licences Pricing A Healthy Profit: a simple guide to pricing the food you make and grow. (due for publication 2012 - www.sustainweb.org) Safe soil Growing Food: How safe is your land? How to assess and deal with potential land contamination. Guidance for communities and individuals involved in food growing. Compiled by the North West Food & Health Task Force www.sustainweb.org/resources/files/reports/ Growing_Food_how_safe_is_your_land.pdf Trading standards A national institute that enforce consumer related legislation. www.tradingstandards.gov. uk/advice/advice-business-food.cfm

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What should you do with the money you make?

Having a bank account

As a community or voluntary group it is important to have a bank account to keep your money safe and to provide a legitimate record of your income and expenditure. It is relatively easy to set up a bank account as an unincorporated community group (see section 10 for different kinds of enterprise). The Co-op, an ethical bank, has a special Community Direct plus account which offers benefits to community groups and social enterprises that choose to bank with them24.

Taking money
It is important to decide how you want to take payment from your customers and set up appropriate systems to manage the income. Some options are outlined below. Cash handling procedures Cash handling procedures apply when taking money at a market stall or when receiving cash on delivery. The advice below is taken from Knead to Know a guide to creating and selling real bread in your community25. Count up the cash (make sure that you are in a secure space) that is taken and check that it is the right amount and then record this. Pay your takings in to your bank account, so that they appear on your financial records and bank statements for that date. Banks require coins to be bagged up by their types with the amount specified on the bag. If you need to keep any cash to use then make sure you have somewhere secure to hold it such as a lockable cash box or safe. Ideally, no cash payments should ever be made apart from through petty cash. Never make payments directly from cash received.

Cash on Delivery This is the most simple and suitable for dealing with small sales and for managing your income, and also ensures that you are paid promptly. One of the projects that we interviewed told us that they lost income due to one of their regular customers going bankrupt, leaving them with one months unpaid invoice. Invoicing (See Appendix 2 for a template invoice) If you are going to be regularly supplying a larger business then they might require an invoice. This fits with their payment methods for their other suppliers and the records that they need. A standard invoice should include: 52 A Growing Trade

An invoice number Your organisation name, address and contact information The name and address of your customer The details and quantity of items you have sold Total amount owing Your terms of payment and how you would like to be paid e.g. online payment, by cheque, or cash. The standard amount of time for payment is 30 days.

The quantity and description of what items you have sold Total amount

VAT Community food growing projects do not need to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) or include it in their pricing. However, you need to register and pay VAT if you are a business that supplies taxable goods and has a turnover of over 73,000. You do not need to pay VAT on food items with the exception of hot food or food for catering, alcohol, confectionary, crisps, savoury snacks, ice cream, soft drinks and mineral water26.

Online payments There are services such as Paypal or Google Checkout that can be set up to allow you to take and monitor credit card payment. These can be a feature of your webpage. This is probably only appropriate if you have a good website and a large number of customers, for example, a box scheme that has regular orders. For one off payments or small amounts using internet banking and having customers transfer money to your account is probably the easiest thing. Delivery notes and receipts Some customers might require a delivery note or receipt when they receive their goods. They may need to have a record of what they have bought for their own accounts. These should include: Your organisation name, address and contact information The details of your customer

Pricing
A well thought through pricing structure is important to make sure that you are not operating at a loss and are aware of hidden costs such as volunteers travel expenses, and transporting your produce. It also means that you are offering a fair price and not undercutting your competitors. Projects often work out their pricing by doing research on what is being charged at farmers markets and in supermarkets, as well as assessing the costs of production. Recommended Reading A Healthy Profit: a simple guide to pricing the food you make and grow. (due for publication 2012 - www.sustainweb.org)

What should you do with the money you make?

53

Money: the who, how and what

What happens to the income that your organisation earns depends on: what kind of organisation you are (see section 10) the decisions that you have made about income from sales what other income you might have

No matter what amount of money you earn, there are a number of things that you are required to do and a number of things you might want to do with your earned income. These include: Paying tax on your earned income Re-investing in your enterprise (people, equipment, etc) Starting a reserve fund from your profits to use in future.

Paying tax When trading regularly you have to pay tax on your profits. There are exemptions but it is important to talk to Her Majestys Revenue and Customs to find out what applies to you. Even if your income is below the threshold for tax you may still need to declare your income. Re-investing in your enterprise To be able to re-invest in your enterprise you will need to be keeping records of your income and expenditure and understand your organisations finances. At the basic level this is: money in, from customer sales, grants and other income money out, for paying bills, buying equipment, etc. (see Appendix 3 for a profits and loss template) A simple spreadsheet that sets out your profits and losses will be able to record this and help you monitor your money. It will also help you make decisions about your pricing model and understand the flow of money in your organisation. This is key to working out your viability and planning for the future of your project. Starting a reserve fund When trading regularly it is a good idea to allocate a percentage of your income in to a future reserve fund. You can use your profit and loss account to do this. This money might be used in the future to expand what you do, or it might be a buffer for when there is less money coming in.

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What should you do with the money you make?

55

Useful information
Organisations
Business Link Business Link is governments online information for businesses, with lots of details on starting a business and the records that you need to keep. http://www.businesslink.gov.uk Co-op Bank An ethical bank that offers special services for community groups and social enterprises. http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/servlet/ Satellite/1196151412581,CFSweb/Page/ Business-CommunityBanking?WT.svl=copy HMRC Her Majestys Revenue and Customs exist to make sure that the correct tax is paid. HMRC has a number of useful and clear document which outline tax issues for new companies. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ct/getting-started/newcompany/who-is-liable.htm Paying tax for community groups and co-ops http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ct/clubs-charitiesagents/clubs.htm http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/index.htm Making Local Food Work The enterprise support strand offers free advice and a range of downloadable information on starting a business. Especially useful is the publication Balancing the books for Food Co-ops http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/about/ toolbox/Toolbox.cfm

Reports
Knead to Know A publication created by The Real Bread Campaign that advises people on baking bread in their local community. The guide has a lot of useful information on cash handling procedures. http://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/knead_ to_know/

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What kind of enterprise?

Starting a community food enterprise can seem really complicated and daunting. But the decision and process around how your enterprise will work only has to happen once so you want to make sure that you get it right and get professional advice Mark Simmonds Co-operatives UK The projects that have been well structured and organised from the start are most effective Seb Mayfield, Capital Growth

Business planning
No matter what size of trading or income generating activities that your project undertakes it is a good idea to be clear on what you want to do and why. This is essentially your business plan and will outline who you are and what happens to any income you might make and give details of your financial planning and projections. The options need to be researched and be ambitious, but realistic. There is no set template and your founding document can be flexible and evolve as your organisation does. The basics are outlined in the recommended reading below but as elsewhere in this report, we recommend you get professional advice. Recommended reading Business Planning Unwrapped: A guide to preparing and writing a business plan, Specialist Community Enterprise Support, Making Local Food Work, March 2011. Can be downloaded for free here http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/

Unincorporated associations
Initially, we set up as a loose group of people who had met through other things and wanted to get the project up and running. When funding became available and a bank account had to be organised we wrote a basic community group constitution. We have had discussions about Community Interest Company and co-op status, but have decided to remain as we are until we feel the business side of the project becomes large enough to warrant a change in structure. Kate De Syllas The Wenlock Herb Garden 58 A Growing Trade

A community food growing group is likely to be a group of like minded people coming together for an activity that they enjoy and believe is important. Trading might be something that a group is interested in exploring but it might be a small amount and irregular e.g. just selling gluts. Legally this is an unincorporated group, which can make its own rules about how the group will be run. An elected management committee will generally oversee and make decisions on behalf of its members. Unincorporated associations enjoy greater freedom than a company, which can make them more suitable for community food growing groups that are selling small quantities of produce from time to time. Unincorporated associations are still liable for tax on their income and may need to declare, even if it is below a taxable amount. Groups should contact Her Majestys Revenue and Customs for more information. The key thing to note is that unincorporated associations have no identity separate to the members, so that if something goes wrong liability lies personally with the members of the group It also means that, in the long-term, it can be very difficult to expand the enterprise and do things like: take on employees raise finance, apply for grants or open bank accounts issue shares enter into large contracts take on a lease or buy freehold property27.

Incorporation
Some of our case studies want to operate as a business with social aims. Incorporation protects the people involved by creating an identity separate to the members. This becomes important when the amount of money you are dealing with becomes higher, and more business activities increases the risks of operating. Becoming incorporated means registering with a regulator and complying with all the associated administration. There are costs involved in the different options available, and there is information and advice available to help you reach the right decision. Popular legal forms used by other community enterprises include: Community Interest Companies Company Limited by Guarantee Industrial and provident society (IPS)

Recommended Reading Co-operatives UK have produced a free and very useful publication Simply Legal which gives information about legal forms and organisational types for community enterprises. They also offer free advice to help organisations get the governing structure that is right for them. http://www.uk.coop/simplylegal

What kind of enterprise?

59

Useful information
Organisations
Business Link Business Link is governments online resource for businesses. It has lots of information on starting a business and the records that you need to keep. http://www.businesslink.gov.uk Enterprise Clubs A government run scheme to help become self-employed or start a business http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ Jobseekers/programmesandservices/ DG_198877 Co-operatives Uk Co-operatives UK is the national trade body that campaign for co-operation and works to promote, develop and unite co-operative enterprises. They produce a range of free to download guides suitable for new and existing cooperative and community enterprises: www. uk.coop/simplyseries Companies House Companies House registers companies. http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/index.shtml HM Revenue and Customs There is a lot of information on their website and available over the phone on tax issues and starting a business. Recommended is Who is liable for corporation tax http://www. hmrc.gov.uk/ct/getting-started/new-company/ who-is-liable.htm Social Enterprise London Social Enterprise London is a world-leading provider of training, research, networking and consultancy for social enterprise. http://www.sel.org.uk/#item-whats-new Specialist Enterprise Support Expert and free help, through business advice, mentoring or a subsidised visit to another community food enterprise http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk The Co-operative Enterprise Hub Free information on running a co-operative enterprise. http://www.co-operative.coop/enterprisehub

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Directory of case studies

Avon Organic Group

Bristol www.avonorganicgroup.org.uk/ This community group was established in 1984 and includes local gardeners, allotment holders and organic campaigners in Bristol. The group had a stall at the very first Bristol Farmers Market in 1998, and has continued to support the market, selling surplus produce at least once a month throughout the growing season. Collectively the group produces an abundance of crops which are mainly for their own consumption. Selling their produce provides an excellent way for them to raise their profile in the community, generates a useful income for some of the members (up to 150 weekly) and also raises income to contribute towards administration and the public liability insurance for the market stall. Labour: The group has 40 volunteers. Type of organisation: They are a community group with a constitution and membership Income: They generate income through selling their combined surplus produce and also from membership fees. What is produced: A selection of vegetables, fruits, preserves and plants. How it is sold: At the Bristol Farmers Market.

Ecoworks
Upper School, Former St Anns Well Junior School, Brewsters Road, Nottingham, NG3 3AG www.ecoworks.org.uk info@ecoworks.org.uk Ecoworks is a not-for-profit community organisation based on the Hungerhill Garden Allotment Site in St Anns, Nottingham. The project runs activities for people that are socially disadvantaged including food growing, courses and training. They operate a caf and box scheme, both of which use their own produce. They have a 400m2 market garden, poly tunnel and 500m2 mixed fruit orchard. They have just acquired an additional 12.5 acre site. The project is supported by NHS Nottingham and has received funding from the Big Lotterys Local Food Fund and The Tudor Trust. The project aims for the box scheme to be self sustaining from its own income by 2014.

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Labour (number of paid staff and volunteers involved): 9 staff and 6 regular volunteers each week. Type of organisation: Company Limited by Guarantee Income: They are funded by the Local Food Fund and The Tudor Trust. They generate some income through their veg box, direct sales from the garden to local restaurants, running their own training and providing event catering. What is produced: Salads, herbs and a selection of fruit and vegetables. How it is sold: Through their own box scheme which has 60-80 customers each week and sales to their own caf and other local cafs and restaurants.

community, to train people in growing food and also to create produce that can be sold through the supermarket. Food From the Sky is co-ordinated by an enthusiastic and creative part-time project officer Azul-Valerie Thome. The aim is for this role to be self-sustaining over a period of about two years, from income generated from sales of produce in the store. They also aim to work with supermarkets and other food retailers to spread the model. Labour: One full time project leader (going part-time), one parttime grower and 5-10 volunteers each week. Type of organisation: Company Limited by Guarantee Income: The sales from their produce, running courses and donations. What is produced: Mixed leaves, herbs, edible flowers, beans and peas, tomatoes, potatoes, courgettes. All produce is grown to organic standard but not certified. How it is sold: The produce is picked weekly and delivered just 50 metres away to the shop floor, where it has its own display area and promotion. All produce is specially coded to so that the income from sales is collected in a separate account to enable the project to monitor produce and sales, and to plan for the future

FARM:shop
20 Dalston Lane, London, E83AZ http://farmlondon.weebly.com/index.html someone@somethingandson.com FARM:shop Dalston is a unique project that converted a disused shop in to a space that grows food, runs events and has a caf and retail space where the produce is sold. The project launched in March 2011 and is now self-sustaining from its own income. The shop has both aquaponic and hydraponic systems installed, has a chicken coop on the roof top and a poly tunnel in the back garden. Labour: One full-time member of staff, one part-time member of staff, and 10 regular volunteers. Type of organisation: They are in the process of setting up a Community Interest Company Income: Initially they received sponsorship and a grant from council. They now generate their own income from the caf, running events, giving talks and hiring out the venue. What is produced: Salad, herbs, eggs, African Tilpia fish, mushrooms, peas, chillies and squash. How it is sold: Through their own shop and caf

Food From the Sky

Thorntons Budgens, 21-23 The Broadway, Crouch End, London N8 8DU http://foodfromthesky.org.uk/ Food from the Sky is a food-growing garden established on the roof of a Budgens supermarket in Crouch End, North London. The project has been developed by Andrew Thornton owner of the Budgens stores franchise working with the local community. The aim is to create a space that is used by the local Directory of case studies 63

Growing Communities
61 Leswin Road, London,N16 7NX http://www.growingcommunities.org/ growcomm@growingcommunities.org Growing Communities is a successful social enterprise in Hackney that operates an organic fruit and vegetable box scheme that packs over 1,000 boxes each week. The box scheme buys in produce from local farmers each week, but also grows a percentage of produce on a number of their own local growing sites as part of a Patchwork Farm in Hackney. The sites are all smaller than an acre but coordinate their growing plans and combine their produce weekly to sell to the box scheme. Growing Communities also runs an apprenticeship scheme to help local people learn growing skills, and operate a pay as you grow trading system. The produce has a guaranteed market as it is bought by the box scheme. The sites specialise in growing salad, and in the height of the growing season the weekly amount created can total over 50 kilos. Labour: They employ 20 part-time staff and have had over 100 volunteers on their site over the past year. Type of organisation: They are a not for profit Company Limited by Guarantee. Income: From their own box scheme, farmers market and through sales of produce to local restaurants and caterers. What is produced: Salad, herbs, leafy vegetables and soft fruits. How it is sold: The majority of the produce is sold through the box scheme and a small urban farm shop, and any surplus produce is sold on to local restaurants. There are also plans for the Patchwork Farm to have its own stall at the successful farmers market also run by Growing Communities in Hackney the only all-organic farmers market in the UK.

Income: From the sale of vegetables What is produced: Various traditional vegetables and salads, plus African Tilapia fish. How it is sold: Produce is sold to three local restaurants and occasional walk in customers

Organiclea
The Hawkwood Plant Nursery, 115 Hawkwood Crescent, Chingford, E4 7UH http://www.organiclea.org.uk/ info@organiclea.org.uk The 12 acre Hawkwood site was established as a community garden in 2009 by Organiclea to produce food to distribute locally and to teach local people how to grow food. Organiclea is a workers co-operative that works with a wide range of members of the local community. In addition to the Hawkwood site they also coordinate activities through the Hornbeam Centre in Walthamstow, which is a local food hub where they run a box scheme and part-time caf. Land at Hawkwood is split in to a number of areas which grow different types of crops, and Organiclea implements careful planning, diverse crops and ecological growing methods, aiming to grow food to trade and make the site economically viable. The combination of land and glass house means they are able to produce a wide range of crops all year round. Current outlets for Organicleas produce are through their own box scheme which has around 70 customers each week, and sales at a number of weekly market stalls including their own Crop Share market stall which is an outlet for other local allotment holders to sell their produce. Some is also cooked and served through their own cafe . They are now testing direct sales to restaurants and caterers, running a stall at a weekly farmers market in Hackney, and are bringing local buyers to view their site and discuss their order. Labour: Approximately 35 volunteers each week and five parttime members of staff Type of organisation: Workers co-operative Income: Sale of produce, working with housing associations to provide services for their residents, box scheme, running training What they produce: Mixed vegetables for Organicleas own box scheme, salads, fruit from the orchard, plants and organic compost, fruit juices and preserves How it is sold: Direct sale to restaurants, through their own box scheme and other local box schemes, market stall and on site.

Moffat CAN
Old Church Depot, Annanside, Moffat, DG10 9HB http://www.moffatcan.org info@moffatcan.org Moffat CAN runs an allotment site and community market garden and also has the first Aquaponics Greenhouse in Scotland. The community Market Garden and Aquaponics Greenhouse are intended as demonstration projects but are also commercial. Labour: Two paid gardeners and four regular volunteers Type of organisation: Charity & Community Owned Company 64 A Growing Trade

The Wenlock Herb Garden

The Wenlock Estate, Hackney, London http://projectdirt.com/profile/WenlockHerbGarden wenlockherbgarden@gmail.com A commercial community garden situated on a housing esate in Hackney, London. The aim is to grow herbs on a commercial basis to sell to local restaurants and become a self-sustaining growing project. Revenue from the sale of the crops will be spent on greening other areas of the estate. Labour: Three part-time member of staff (their time being paid out of food sales), and 5-6 regular volunteers. Type of organisation: Unincorporated community group Income: Sales of produce What they produce: Salad, herbs and soft fruit How it is sold: Direct sale to restaurants and ad hoc to residents on the estate

allotment land that has been made available by Plymouth City Council. The project aims to provide an environment that will benefit a range of vulnerable or socially disadvantaged people, helping them to become better integrated in the community and bringing communities together. They sell produce to a number of local restaurants and also from their own on site farm shop. Fir Tree Community Growers Fir Tree Farm, Pimbo Road, Kings Moss, St Helens, Merseyside WA11 8RG http://www.climatefriendlyfood.org.uk/fir_tree_farm jenny@climatefriendlyfood.org.uk This project trains unemployed and vulnerable people in Merseyside. They also operate their own organic market garden producing around 10 tonnes of organic vegetables which are sold to lowincome groups locally or through an organic shop in Liverpool. Fork and Dig it Stanmer Organics, Stanmer Park, Lewes Road, Brighton, West Sussex BN1 9PZ http://www.forkanddigit.co.uk/ enquiries@forkanddigit.co.uk A voluntary organic community gardening group based in Stanmer Park, Brighton. They have a two acre organic certified market garden where they sell the crops that they produce. Glebelands Market Gardens Sale, Manchester http://www.glebelandscitygrowers.co.uk/ contacts@glebelandscitygrowers.co.uk Glebelands is a pioneering urban market garden situated on the outskirts of Manchester. They sell most of there produce through local outlets such as Unicorn Grocery. Gleeblands are also one of the founding members of Manchester Veg People a growers and buyers co-operative. Heeley City Farm Richards Road, Sheffield S2 3DT http://www.heeleyfarm.org.uk info@heeleyfarm.org.uk Based in Sheffield, this city farm offers food growing training to a wide range of people in the community and they grow a wide range of produce at Wortley Hall Organic Garden. They sell produce in a number of outlets in Sheffield to contribute towards the costs of staff time and materials for the site. Directory of case studies 65

Other interviewed projects and examples of community trading

Bungay Community Bee Keepers Sustainable Bungay, Bungay, Suffolk www.sustainablebungay.com/bungay-community-bees-2/ The Bungay Community Bee Keepers are part of sustainable Bungay are a community and they have developed a membership system to raise funds to purchase equipment and train local people as bee keepers. Cultivate London 8 Dean Court, Bowmans Close, West Ealing, W13 9YU http://www.cultivatelondon.org/ leah@cultivatelondon.org This innovative urban farm, based across multiple sites in West London, produces a range of herbs and vegetables for sale to London households, restaurants and shops. Diggin it 45 Penlee Way, Stoke, Plymouth PL3 4DD http://www.digginit.org.uk/ digginit@routeways.org.uk An organic gardening project in Plymouth run by the Routeways Centre Ltd, a Plymouth charity. It is a community garden growing and selling vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers, on unused

Hounslow Community Farming Association Faggs Road, Feltham, Middlesex TW14 0LZ http://www.hcfa.org.uk/ The Hounslow Community Farming Association aims to provide vocational employment opportunities in horticulture / farming for individuals in Hounslow whilst at the same time improving the quality of the urban environment. They run their own box scheme which distributes their own produce. Little Growers CIC Surrey heather@littlegrowers.co.uk http://www.littlegrowers.com/ Little Growers is a Community Interest Company that establishes food growing projects in primary schools. The project aims to educate children about where their food comes from and combines food growing with the curriculum. Running a market stall to sell produce has been a successful part of the project. Melior Street Community Garden Southwark, London, SE1 3QP http://www.mungos.org/pdr Team London Bridge, in partnership with Southwark Council, upgraded the previously derelict open space on Melior Street, to include a pocket plaza park and a community growing space. The plans include a community herb and vegetable garden, a potting shed, reclaimed timber planters and plenty of communal areas to sit and enjoy the green oasis. The garden is maintained by St. Mungos and their Putting Down Roots programme. They are currently selling their community grown produce to a local restaurant, The Table Caf in Southwark. Nourish Community CIC Stanmer Offices, Stanmer Park, Lewes Road, Brighton BN1 9SE http://www.nourishcic.co.uk/index.html info@nourishcic.co.uk Nourish CIC is a social enterprise that provides training and employment opportunities with disadvantaged adults. They have their own farm where they produce crops that are cooked up and sold in their caf in the city centre.

Rocky Park Urban Growers Ellesworth Street, Bethnal Green, London E2 OAX http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rocky-Park-Urban-Growers/ nigelmarlow@hotmail.co.uk Part of the Teesdale & Hollybush Estate, Rocky Park is a community growing garden set up by the residents in 2009. It is run by residents of the estate and volunteers. At the moment they have 35 raised beds and an orchard. They sell their own crops at a market stall and also make chutneys and processed goods to sell. Salop Drive Ideal for All, Independent Living Centre, 100 Oldbury Road, Smethwick, West Midlands B66 1JE http://www.sandwellfoodnetwork.org/viewProject.php?id=1 Veronica_Barry@sandwell.gov.uk Salop Drive Market Garden is a unique three acre working market garden which developed from a derelict allotment site over a period of five years and represents the hard work and vision of disabled and local people. They sell their own produce to low income residents from their site. The Urban Wine Company Tooting, London http://www.urbanwineco.com/ info@urbanwineco.com A membership scheme in South-East London that harvests surplus grapes from peoples gardens and allotments and makes wine that is shared between the members and sold. Over 1.5 tonnes of grapes were collected at the 2009 harvest which made an astounding 1000 bottles of professionally produced wine. Urban Harvest Birmingham 4 Herbert Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 9AE http://www.urbanharvestbham.org/ eleanor@urbanharvestbham.org A new social enterprise in Birmingham that harvests unwanted urban fruit and sells it as juices and preserves. http://www.urbanharvestbham.org/

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Funding and local food organisations

Funding organisations
Capital Growth Partnership initiative aiming to create 2012 new community food growing spaces across London by the end of 2012. The campaign offers regular small grants. http://www.capitalgrowth.org/ Food Vision Guidelines to secure external funding available from a variety of different sources http://www.foodvision.gov.uk/pages/funding Local Action on Food/ London Food Link Both of these networks provide a monthly funding round-up as part of their network memberships. www.sustainweb.org New Enterprise Allowance Financial help and advice with starting your own business http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Jobseekers/ programmesandservices/DG_198864 Reaching Communities Reaching Communities is a Big Lottery fund for projects that help people and communities most in need. http://www. biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_reaching_communities UnLtd UnLtd is a charity which supports social entrepreneurs with a complete package of funding and support http://www.unltd.org.uk/

Other Useful Organisations: National

Business Link A government run service that offers free business support and advice to new projects. http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/home Ecological Land Cooperative Creators of the Small is Successful: Creating Sustainable Livelihoods on Ten Acres or Less http://www.ecologicalland.coop/ Local Action on Food A national network co-ordinated by Sustain: the alliance for

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better food and farming that brings together a diverse range of local food projects that are working towards a more sustainable UK food system. http://www.localactiononfood.org/ Making Local Food Work Reconnecting people and land through local food by increasing access to fresh, healthy, local food with clear, traceable origins. Incudes specific help for: Community Supported Agriculture Country Markets Ltd Food Co-ops and Buying Groups Food Distribution and Supply Social enterprises http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk Soil Association The largest organic certification body which also offers a wide range of advice on issues relating to organic food growing and community supported agriculture. http://www.soilassociation.org/

integrated approach to producing more food in the City. http://www.harvest-bh.org.uk Harvest Project Exeter-wide project that promotes community food growing. http://www.eci.org.uk/HarvestHarvest Kindling Trust Works towards an ecologically sustainable society, by establishing a practical working example in the North West of England. http://www.kindling.org.uk Nourish Scotlands Sustainable Local Food Network http://www.nourishscotland.org.uk

London
Ethical Eats A network of restaurants and caterers that are interested in buying local and sustainable food. http://www.sustainweb.org/londonfoodlink/ethical_eats/ Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency (GCDA) GCDA offers specialist social enterprise support for national and regional models. http://www.greenwich-cda.org.uk/ London Food Link A network of organisations and individuals who are working to make Londons food system more sustainable. London Food Link runs a number of projects to support sustainable food in London including the Capital Growth campaign and Ethical Eats. http://www.sustainweb.org/londonfoodlink/ Social Enterprise London Social Enterprise London offers support and advice for new and existing social enterprises in the capital. http://www.sel.org.uk/

Regional support and local networks

Bristol Local Food Network Directory of where you can eat or buy local food in Bristol and a guide to Getting Going Growing your own local produce http://www.bristollocalfood.co.uk/ Fresh Ideas Network (South East England) Offers support to community food projects which aim to make healthy/local food more easily available, accessible and affordable to local communities. They offer specialist help and training around social enterprise. http://www.freshideas.org.uk/ GRO-FUN Works to increase the amount of organic food growing and growers in local, urban neighbourhoods in Bristol http://www.grofun.org.uk/home.htm info@grofun.org.uk Grow Sheffield Urban community food growing project including Abundance to harvest the seasonal glut of local fruit like apples, pear and plums. http://www.growsheffield.com/ Harvest Brighton and Hove This project is a partnership which co-ordinates a city wide,

Funding and local food organisations

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Appendix 1
A guide to selling fruit and vegetables
Net weight: The weight of the goods without the wrapper. Gross weight: The weight of the goods plus the weight of the wrapper. Weight of wrappers is strictly controlled. If sold by gross weight the wrapper must be within certain weight limits (check with your local Trading Standards department) and it is probably better to pack only by net weight (i.e. the weight of the produce itself).

Potatoes Loose potatoes may be sold either by net or gross weight, and you can sell any weight of them. Pre-packed potatoes can only be sold in the following amounts: 500g, 750g, 1kg, 1.5kg, 2kg, 2.5kg, 5kg, 7.5kg, 10kg, 12.5kg, 15kg, 20kg, 25kg. The container must be marked with the net weight. Or, if each potato weighs over 75g (such as big baking potatoes), then the container should be marked with the number of potatoes it contains and a statement that each potato weighs not less than 175g. Soft fruits and mushrooms Soft fruits and mushrooms can be sold by either net or gross weight. In either case, the weight must be made known before customers buy. Soft fruits can also be sold by the punnet. How can other fruit and vegetables be sold? Loose fruit and vegetables may be sold by either net or gross weight. If you sell fruit and vegetables pre-packed, these must be sold by net weight (i.e. the weight of the produce itself). You can pack them by number only if they appear in the list of Countable Produce. The container must be marked with either the net weight or the number of items. An exception to this is if the packet is transparent and there are not more than eight items of Countable Produce in it, which the customer can clearly see and count for themselves.

Selling by bunch or number Some vegetables can be sold by the bunch and certain fruits and vegetables can be sold by number. These are known as countable produce. Examples of countable produce Apples, Corn-on-the-cob, lettuce, Pears, Cucumber, Fennel, Marrows, Plums, Garlic, Pumpkins, Beetroots, Onions (not spring), Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Tomatoes, Celery, chillies Examples of vegetables sold by the bunch Asparagus, Mustard, cress, Beetroots, Carrots, Parsley, Chives, Radishes, Endives, Salad, Garlic, Turnips, Mint, Watercress.

Appendix 1

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Appendix 2
Template invoice
Your Organisation name here Your Address Here Logo Here Your Phone Your Email Customer Information: Billing Address (If different): Company: Name: Address: Delivery Address: Company: Name: Address: Invoice Date: INVOICE Invoice Number:

Order Information: Qty Product Description Amount Each Amount

Subtotal: Delivery cost (if applicable): Grand Total:

Notes:

Terms and methods of payment: e.g. online payment, by cheque, cash. The standard amount of time for payment is 30 days.

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Appendix 3
A Basic Costing Spreadsheet - a profit and loss account
This template shows the type of information that a community garden might want to record on a typical profit and loss account. This spreadsheet records the total amount of income for that project each month, the costs that the project has incurred for that month and the net profit i.e. the total income minus the costs of operating.
Jan Income Income from sales of produce Grants Donations Income from training Income from events Expenditure Salaries Employee and volunteer benefits Employee time spent on grant applications Rent Rates Phone Electricity Gas Water Seeds and plants Compost Tools Packaging Fuel Vehicle Maintenance Insurance (motor and buildings) Marketing Events Membership fees to other organisations Overheads: office costs, accountancy, bank charges, stationary Advocacy work (helping other organisations do what you do) Wastage Pest and disease management Bad debts Depreciation of equipment Depreciation of vehicle Contribution to reserves( to fund new purchases of equipment, new marketing campaigns, discounts, price promotions, cover exceptional items, enable new development) Total cost Net profit (Total sales less total cost of sales) Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

Appendix 3

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References
1. Carolyn Steel, Hungry City (June 2008), Chatto & Windus, http://www.hungrycitybook.co.uk/ 2. Sustainable Food, Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, http://www.sustainweb.org/sustainablefood/ 3. The Local Food Fund, http://www.localfoodgrants.org/ 4. Making Local Food Work Programme, http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/ 5. Capital Growth Campaign, http://www.capitalgrowth.org/ 6. Who Feeds Bristol (2011) Bristol City Council, http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/food-bristol 7. Small is Successful (2011) The Ecological Land Cooperative http:// ecologicalland.coop/projects-small-successful 8. Landshare, http://www.landshare.net/, Capital Growth, http://www.capitalgrowth.org/ ,Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, http://www.farmgarden.org.uk/ 9. Stalled Spaces: Temporary Landscapes, Glasgow Green space, Glasgow City Council, http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Business/Environment/Clyde_ KelvinGreenspace/Stalled+Spaces++++Temporary+Landscapes.htm 10. Healthy places: Encouraging spaces for community growing (2011) The National Heart Forum, http://www.healthyplaces.org.uk/key-issues/encouraging-spaces-forcommunity-food-growing/encouraging-community-growing-space/ 11. Allotment Act 1922, Legislation http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/ Geo5/12-13/51/section/22?view=extent 12. Growing Communities start up programme, http://www.growingcommunities.org/start-ups/ 13. Roots to Work: Developing employability through community foodgrowing and other urban agriculture projects (2011), City and Guild centre for skills and development, http://www.skillsdevelopment.org.uk/pdf/Roots%20to%20work%20 report.pdf 14. Volunteers and the Law (2005) Mark Restall, Volunteering England, http://www.volunteering.org.uk 15. Community Supported Agriculture, The Soil Association http://www.soilassociation.org/Takeaction/Getinvolvedlocally/ Communitysupportedagriculture/tabid/201/Default.aspx 16. How Bungay Community Bees Work, Sustainable Bungay, http://www.sustainablebungay.com/2009/10/how-bungaycommunity-bees-works/ 17. The Capital Growth Campaign, http://www.capitalgrowth.org/ 18. Ethical Eats, http://www.sustainweb.org/londonfoodlink/ethical_eats/ 19. Capital Bee, http://www.capitalgrowth.org/bees/ 20. The Country Markets Handbook (2006),Country Markets Ltd, http:// www.country-markets.co.uk/become-a-producer-c17.html 21. Wholesome Food Association, http://www.wholesome-food.org/, Climate Friendly Food, http://www.climatefriendlyfood.org.uk/ 22. The Country Markets Handbook (2006), http://www.country-markets.co.uk/become-a-producer-c17.html 23. Street trading licenses, Food Co-ops Toolkit (2009), http://www.sustainweb.org/foodcoopstoolkit/street_trading_licences/ 24. Free banking for community and voluntary organisations, Community Direct Plus, The Co-op, http://www.co-operativebank. co.uk/servlet/Satellite/1196151412581,CFSweb/Page/BusinessCommunityBanking?WT.svl=copy 25. Knead to Know date and weblink, Cash Handling Procedures, pg 85 26. Different Goods and Services and their VAT rate, HMRC, http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/goods-services.htm 27. This information is taken from Business Link- Set up a Social Enterprise, Unincorporated associationshttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/ detail?itemId=1077475675&r.l1=1073858805&r.l2=1085161962&r. l3=1077475650&r.s=sc&type=RESOURCES

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Photo credits
Thanks to the Capital Growth campaign for their fantastic images of community gardens in London. All case studies images have been kindly donated by the projects interviewed. Otherwise, images are as follows Notes Pg ii Salad harvest, Growing Communities, North London Section 1 Pg 1 Moss Brook Growers, Manchester Pg 2 Growing Communities micro site, apprentice Ximena Ransom, London Pg 4 Growing communities urban farmers, Ida Fabrizio and Sophie Verhagen at the Castle Climbing Centre, London Section 2 Pg 5 Gardens on rooftops, Wolff Olins Brand Consultants, Capital Growth, London Pg 6 Community food growing in the city, Capital Growth, London Pg 8 Allotment gardens, East London Pg 10, Roof top chicken farming, The FARM shop Dalston, London Section 3 Pg 13 Volunteers at the Alara community garden, London Pg 14 Volunteers at work in Regents Park, London Pg 17 The Castle Climbing centre, North London Section 4 Pg 21 Hackney chilli sauce at Feast on the Bridge, London Pg 22 Selling Capital Growth community produce in Covent Garden, Paola Guzman, London Pg 24 Community produce from Melior Street delivered to The Table Caf in Southwark, London Section 5 Pg 25 Capital Growth volunteers at The London Green Fair, London Pg 29 Polytunnel salad harvest for Cultivate London, Leah Macpherson, London Pg 31 Selling community produce for Capital Growth, Nat Mady London Section 6 Pg 33 Chili Harvest for Growing Communities, Ida Fabrizio, London Pg 34 Salad harvest, Johanna Wallther, North London Pg 37 Catching Tilpia, Moffat CAN, Scotland Section 7 Pg 39 Crop share scheme, Organiclea, North London Pg 40 Carrots for sale at Doddington Den, the roof garden above the DRCA, Capital Growth, London Pg 44 Sorting community produce, City Harvest Festival 2007 Pg 46 Produce sold by school children, Little Growers, Surrey Section 8 Pg 47 Locally grown community produce for sale at Unicorn grocery store in Manchester Section 9 Pg 55 Community Garden shot, Eco Works, Nottingham Section 10 Pg Capital Growth volunteers in Regents Park, London Section 11 Pg 61 A tour of the Ecoworks growing site, Nottingham Pg 62 Learning about Aquaponics, MoffatCAN, Scotland Section 12 Pg 67 Chard cultivation, Glebelands Market Garden, Manchester

Thanks
A Growing Trade was written and researched by Polly Higginson who co-ordinates Sustains Local Action on Food network, with special thanks to. Adam Creedale Alex Payne Any Scaife Andrew Thornton Azul-Valerie Thome Chris Hearld Chris Young Clare Joy Colin Mitchell Darrel Maryon Dasha French Elinor McDowall Eloise Dey Emma Brophy Heather Pearl Helen Woodcock Ida Fabrizio Jeanette Longfield Joel Brook Kate De Syllas Kath Dalmeny Katrina Tait Leah Macpherson Leon Ballin Mark Simmonds Maresa Bossano Maurice McCartney Michael Turrisi Nicola Hinton Rebecca Laughton Richard Snow Rob Alderson Sara Berg Sara Davies Sara Winnington Seb Mayfield Shannon Smith Shaun Alpine-Crabtree Tim Botfield Ximena Ransom Dig Food Urban Agriculture Blog Freelance photographer Thorntons of Budgens Food from the Sky Wild Forest Foods The Real Bread Campaign Organiclea The National Heart Forum Heely City farm What will the harvest be? Bungay Community Bee Keepers Capital Growth Volunteer Little Growers The Kindling Trust Growing Communities Sustain Earth Ark The Wenlock Herb Garden Sustain Moffat CAN Cultivate London Grow Sheffield Co-operatives UK Food Co-ops Campaign Fresh Management Solutions The Wenlock Herb Garden Eco works The Ecological Land Co-operative Making Local Food Work Moss Brook Growers The Duke of Cambridge Growing Communities Fork and Dig it Capital Growth Avon Organic Group The Table Cafe Salop Drive Market Garden Growing Communities

Design and lay out: Becky Joynt. Photographs: All images have been donated by the projects involved and credited where necessary.

Photo credits

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Local Action on Food is a national network of people and projects from across the UK that are working towards creating a strong and healthy sustainable food system. Join the network now and find out what we are up to at www.localactiononfood.org

Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming 94 White Lion Street London N1 9PF Tel: 020 7837 1228 Email: sustain@sustainweb.org Web: www.sustainweb.org Sustain is a Registered Charity No. 1018643