Community Supported Agriculture

Local Food for Local People

8th December 2011

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Food4MaccDirect

A partnership between farmers and consumers…

where the responsibilities, risks and rewards of farming are more evenly shared…

than in supermarket-dominated systems.

Community Supported Agriculture

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Food4MaccDirect

Consumers•consumers benefit from receiving fresh food from a known source•the environmental benefits of fewer 'food miles', less packaging and ecologically sensitive farming with improved animal welfare•a local economy enhanced by higher employment, more local processing, local consumption and a re-circulation of money through 'local spend‘ •spending £1 on local food in a local outlet generates £2.50 in the local economy vs. £1.10 when spent in a supermarket•educating people about varieties of food, it's production methods and costs•encouraging more sustainable farming and having an influence over the local landscape

Farmers•a more secure income which improves business planning and increases time to concentrate on farming•a higher and fairer return for their products by selling direct to the public•increased involvement in the local community; the opportunity to respond directly to consumers' needs, receiving direct feedback•receive help with labour and planning initiatives for the future

Benefits of Community Supported Agriculture

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Food4MaccDirect

• 40% of all food is imported & 90%+ of fruit is imported

• 3000 small and medium-scale farmers have gone out of business over the past decade, with 1 dairy farmer closing in Britain every day

• 30 pig farmers have gone bust in the past year

• If current trends continue, by 2025 over 40% of Britons will be obese due partly to increasing availability and promotion of highly processed foods and loss of skills in cooking raw ingredients

• The food we eat in the UK – growing, producing and importing it – accounts for 30% of the UK’s carbon footprint

• 4 giant supermarket chains control 80% of food retail and they have resisted legislation to give a fairer deal to farmers for the last 11 years

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A few related facts… Food4MaccDirect

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Local Food for

Local PeopleSeasonal Cheshire Veg

BagsArtisan Bread and Cakes

Fresh Local Meat & Trout

Real Cheshire Cheeses

Buy great quality produce from trusted local producers

Support the local economy and reduce your food miles

Become a member to enjoy great value prices & events

Our members order their produce in advance by e-mail then pick up from our producers in central Macclesfield.

Full Membership: £24 per annum per household. Concessions and discounts available.

40 members have joined since we started in April 2011!

What is Food4MaccDirect? Food4MaccDirect

• Food4MaccDirect aims to make it easier for everyone in Macclesfield to eat tasty, fresh, nutritious and affordable local food, sourced directly from local farmers and producers.

• This will support the local economy and reconnect us with where our food comes from, moving us away from a global food system, dependent on cheap oil and imports.

• We are a not for profit Community Enterprise run by a Board of 8 Directors

• We operate as a membership organisation with 40 members currently buying produce through Food4MaccDirect from 11 producers

• We formed a Company Limited by Guarantee which started trading in April 2011

• Since April we have operated profitably with sales of over £7,000

• Since October we have employed 5 part time staff in various roles

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What is Food4MaccDirect? Food4MaccDirect

Local Food for Local People

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Food4MaccDirect

Seasonal Local Veg

Fresh, nutritious seasonal vegetables sourced entirely from Cheshire - weekly

RealBread

Choice of large Cheshire Leaven sourdough or Baker’s Choice from our local artisan baker - weekly

ProperCake

Selection of delicious homemade cake varieties baked in Macclesfield - weekly

FreshTrout

Fresh local whole trout from the spring fed River Dane in Wincle - weekly

Cheshire Cheese

3 handmade Cheshire cheeses – Burt’s Blue, Golden Brie and mature Cheshire - monthly

Free Range Chicken

Large free range chickens various suppliers - monthly

LocalLamb  

Traditionally reared lamb from North Rode – monthly in season

Outdoor Reared Pork

Dry cured bacon & sausages from Gloucester Old Spots near Congleton - monthly

XmasTurkeys

Delicious free range bronze turkeys from Knutsford – available in season

VegetarianMince Pies

Home made vegetarian mince pies from Capesthorne – available in season

Local Food

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Food4MaccDirectLocal People

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Producers and Farmers Perspective Food4MaccDirect

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Consumers Perspective Food4MaccDirect

1. “Local” means our producers are ideally within 5 miles of Macclesfield, not more than 50

2. A sustainable and environmentally sensitive approach, ideally organic and non-GM

3. We want to understand and improve the nutritional value of the produce4. Local producers should use local raw materials (eg wheat) where possible 5. Use of fossil fuels (and derivatives) should be kept to a minimum6. We will support existing and encourage new local producers7. We will only go into production ourselves if a gap exists and we can

successfully fill it8. Consumers must be able to see how farms and producers operate9. Anyone can become a member, regardless of income, so we will offer

concessions10.We will build community groups, bringing like-minded people together11.We will be commercially viable, but non-profit making12.Our survival will not be wholly dependent on volunteers on an on-going basis13.Our membership fees and a small margin should cover our costs14.Prices must be fair to our producers as well as good value to our members15.We will only act as an intermediary between producer and our members when

we can add value

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Food4MaccDirectOur Guiding Principles

• We need somewhere to bring together, sort out and store our produce before it gets collected or delivered

• We hope to have a distribution hub to enable us to do this, working with Cheshire Peaks and Plains

• Once we have this facility, we should be able to expand the number of drop-off points

• Other community centres, like pubs and village shops + schools, children’s nurseries etc.

• Opens up the possibility of providing training in food preparation, baking etc.

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Food4MaccDirectFood4MaccDirect Distribution Hub

• Produce Group– Responsible for finding and signing up any new supplier, as well as on-going

management of existing suppliers

• Distribution Group– Responsible for how we get produce to customers, working with the Snow

Goose and finding us a distribution hub

• Commercial Group– Responsible for our financial health and overseeing our finance and admin

systems

• Marketing Group– Responsible for promoting F4MD in conjunction with F4M and managing the

website, press etc.

• Events Group– Responsible for fulfilling our obligations to our members, including “eat local”

meals, farm visits, visits to cheese producers, bread making demos etc.

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Food4MaccDirectFood4MaccDirect Groups

All groups have a leader and a few members, who can be involved a lot or a little, depending on the time they can give.

If you would like to be involved in one of the groups, please ask!

5 Questions:

1.What other local produce would you like?2.How do we resolve “local” vs. “organic”?3.What food should we produce ourselves?4.How can we improve our service to members?5.How can we get more producers involved?

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Agenda Food4MaccDirect

5 Teams: 10 mins to discuss and then a quick feedback to everyone