Make fresh local food your new year's resolution

Finding good fresh food at an affordable price is not always easy – that's where Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming can help. A dedicated adviser has now been appointed in every region in England to help people set up food co-ops.    

By forming a food co-op  and pooling their buying power, and ordering direct from local growers and wholesalers, communities can improve their access to a wide range of good food, save money, help the environment, and improve their health and well being.  

Thanks to funding from the Big Lottery via the Making Local Food Work programme FREE advice is now available on everything you might need to know about setting up a food co-op, such as finding suppliers, buying equipment or recruiting volunteers.

Community-run food co-ops come in all shapes and sizes including buying clubs, bag or box schemes, stalls or shops, and can provide a variety of different foods such as fruit and vegetables, wholefoods, home-made bread or local meat and dairy produce.

Sustain have produced a food co-ops toolkit which is FREE to local groups and is also on-line at www.sustainweb.org/foodcoopstoolkit Support such as 'How to' workshops, training days, exchange visits to other food co-ops, and regional networking events is also available.

You can search for your nearest community food co-op on our website at http://www.foodcoops.org/ or if you run a food co-op and are not already listed then you can add your details to our map. Existing food co-ops can also get support and advice from our project so please get in touch.

To find out more about food co-ops and how to set one up where you live, contact you regional adviser:

• South East - Sara Osman – sara@sustainweb.org
• South West -  Alison Belshaw – alison@sustainweb.org 
• North West - Ruth Kelly - ruth@sustainweb.org
• North East - Kirstin Glendinning - kirstin@sustainweb.org 
• Yorkshire & Humber - Lizzie Fellows – lizzie@sustainweb.org 
• East of England – Gemma Sayers - gemma@sustainweb.org
• West Midlands - Pete Norton – pete@sustainweb.org 
• East Midlands - Alissa Pemberton - alissa@sustainweb.org

For all other queries contact: foodcoops@sustainweb.org or call 0203 5596 777

Notes to editor:

The Food Co-ops and Buying Groups programme is managed by Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming, as part of the Making Local Food Work programme.

Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming, advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, promote equity and enrich society and culture. To find out more about our work visit our website https://www.sustainweb.org

The Making Local Food Work programme is run by partnership of organisations including Sustain, the Soil Association, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), Country Markets Ltd, Co-operatives UK, National Farmers' Retail & Markets Association (FARMA) and is managed by the Plunkett Foundation. To find out more about Making Local Food Work visit http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/