REPORT FROM THE RURAL REGENERATION UNIT - FULFILLING SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT

WITH STAFFORDSHIRE MOORLANDS DISTRICT COUNCIL

(on behalf of Moorlands Together Partnership) To establish a Food Cooperative in Leek North, Staffordshire Moorlands.

Between 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2017.

Prepared by: - Julie Wedgwood – Director – Rural Regeneration Unit.

1. Project Aim To establish a food cooperative in Leek North, Staffordshire Moorlands by developing and coordinating delivery of a whole community approach to achieve sustained positive development and outcomes. With The Rural Regeneration Unit working alongside the community to develop an operational food co-operative that is sustainable by the end of the period of pump-priming funding - 30 September 2017.

2. Service Objectives: - The Service objectives being: -

Improve levels of health in target area. Overcome social and economic exclusion in the target area. Support and strengthen local community enterprise. Build the capacity of the local community to deliver effective solutions to issues affecting them. Develop, support and build the capacity of community/voluntary organisations and community structures. Promote local resident participation in regeneration. Deliver a sustainable food cooperative.

The overall purpose being to improve access to healthy and affordable food for the local community.

With the service being available to all individuals living within the Leek North area in Leek. The total population of the area is 5442 individuals.

3. Milestones with achievements to date: -

Aim Achieved

To establish a food cooperative in Leek North, Staffordshire Moorlands by developing and coordinating delivery of a whole community approach to achieve sustained positive development and outcomes

– We have established a popular and sustainable food cooperative, initially in The

Shop on the Green (opened December 2016) and now in Haregate Community

Centre, which has been our base since June 2017.

– 617 households have accessed fruit and vegetables from the Coop with a

membership base of 200 families buying produce on a regular basis.

– 1480 individuals have benefited (based on 617 households joining the project

with an average household size of 2.4).

– 29 people have volunteered with the Coop.

– 4 distribution points have been established.

Improve levels of health in target area.

The project has increased access to both healthy food and exercise opportunities and it is reasonable to predict that this will have had a positive impact on health levels locally. 63 people have joined Brough Park Leisure Centre through a discounted membership scheme and 84 people have taken part in training. Approximately 12,000 bananas (and similar quantities of each variety of fruit and veg)

have been distributed through the project. Several of our regular customers have reported that the project has helped them lose weight, manage long term health issues (including cancer treatment) and eat a more varied diet.

Overcome social and economic exclusion in the target area.

The Community Cupboard which has been established in Haregate Community Centre (an informal shop stocked with produce supplied by FareShare, Tesco and Morrisons) allows residents to access food that would otherwise have been thrown away on a 'pay as you feel' basis. This has been hugely popular, and gives people on very low incomes the chance to get food for a token donation (or no donation when faced with a crisis). Presenting the Community Cupboard as a means of reducing food waste has successfully prevented any stigma from attaching itself to this element of the project. Members who access it are pleased to help reduce waste, rather than perceiving it as a form of charity. 70 people accessing crisis support from Leek and District Food Bank have been given free vouchers to access food. This has provided a direct route to cheaper food after their situations have stabilised. Local churches access the Community Cupboard in the Centre to support clients in crisis. With excess food from the Community Cupboard being donated to attendees at Leek Work Club free of charge, supporting financially precarious local people.

Support and strengthen local community enterprise.

The project has established community enterprise at the heart of Haregate Community Centre's operation, incentivising the centre to get involved in something vastly different from its traditional activities.

Build the capacity of the local community to deliver effective solutions

The project has successfully built the capacity of a range of people involved in its delivery:

to issues affecting them.

– The Programme Manager has developed an understanding of community

enterprise that will facilitate the establishment of a sustainable model for the

expansion of the project.

– Volunteers on the project have developed their skills and confidence to the extent

that they readily and regularly propose solutions to problems as they arise, and

develop valuable links with the wider community. Examples of this include

securing donations to the project from allotment holders, developing links with local

churches and arranging for a fridge to be donated from staff at Waitrose following

its closure.

Develop, support and build the capacity of community/voluntary organisations and community structures.

The project has built community capacity in a number of ways: firstly by developing the skills and experience of volunteers directly engaged in the project; Haregate Community Centre is in a position to recognise and exploit opportunities to deliver activities outside their traditional remit; groups based at the centre have incorporated food into their activities to a greater extent, with the Explorer Soft play group in particular becoming a breakfast club (using Leek Food Coop produce), transforming a situation where they were considering closure due to falling numbers to one where they are now looking at expanding to an additional weekly session. The cooperative has linked community and voluntary organisations, schools and statutory bodies through a common interest in healthy food.

Promote local resident participation in regeneration.

Participation of residents as volunteers and members in the project has been key to its success. From an initial volunteer base of 12 6th form students from Leek High, a further 17 volunteers have taken part, all drawn from the local community.

Deliver a sustainable food cooperative.

The Cooperative is now established as a popular and sustainable fixture in the provision of food in the area with a stable and growing base of members and volunteers and

widespread community support.

4. Beneficiaries supported: -

Beneficiaries: - Families and households not experiencing healthy lifestyles. • Children slow to reach age expected developmental milestones. • People suffering poor housing conditions, including cold housing and fuel poverty. • Families affected by poverty, low income and/or unemployment. • People deemed to be socially isolated and lonely. • People living with disabilities and/or long-term health conditions including obesity. • Carer. With members of the cooperative regularly reporting improvements in their diet, and subsequently general health. Examples being:-

– 2 members undergoing treatment for cancer who are using produce from the project as part of their convalescence

– Churnet View Middle School, Beresford First School, Leek First School, The Meadows Special School and Moorlands

Children’s Centre have all received regular donations of fruit from the project. Approximately 5,000 pieces of fruit have

been provided over the life of the project, allowing the schools to add healthy food to their existing activities.

– Adults with disabilities have benefited from the project through its involvement with Leek Gateway Club and Leek Town

FC's disability side through the provision of fruit for activities and a session with a personal trainer at Brough Park Leisure

Centre.

5. Service outcomes and outputs: -

An operational food co-operative with distribution centre and distribution mechanisms has been established.

A business, financial and service plan will be completed to establish the Food Cooperative as an independent

Community Interest body by 1 April 2018. With an aspiration to expand throughout the whole of Staffordshire.

Excellent relationships have been established with Harrisons a local wholesaler and any concerns or conflicts have

been managed with existing stores.

Working with Haregate Community Centre surplus food has been sourced from local supermarkets and Fare Share

which could have been potentially wasted.

An approved structure and governance and reporting arrangements is being developed with a view to establishing a

Community Interest body from 1 April 2017.

A sustainable volunteer base has been established.

Participating members (volunteers) have been recruited to the food cooperating. With the focus remaining to engage

with residents of Leek North whilst promoting to the wider community.

By working with a range of partners the food cooperative has been embedded into the community and existing

networks/other providers.

Close working relationships have been established with the foodbank and the coop is seen as an alternative exit route

from that provision.

Comments on Service Outcomes and Outputs: - The co-operative has been operational since December 2016 and has been established as an important element of food provision in the local area. A range of suppliers have been tried over the course of the project, and a strong relationship has been built with the most supportive of these: Harrison's Greengrocer, Leek. The majority of produce is sourced through Harrison's and is supplemented by donations received from FareShare, Tesco, Morrisons and local allotment holders. The extension of the project to include a range of foodstuffs beyond fruit and veg bags has been a key factor in building a sustainable customer base. From an initial volunteer base of 12 6th form students from Leek High, a further 17 volunteers have taken part, all drawn from the local community. 3 volunteers referred from Leek Work Club have secured paid employment following their participation in the project (one of whom continues to volunteer when his shift pattern allows). 2 of the 6th Form volunteers have completed Young Leader training through SCYVS and have been accepted onto the Ivanovo 2017 exchange, which will see them travel to Russia in November as part of a youth delegation. Volunteers have taken part in all aspects of the project: dealing with suppliers; sorting, packing, delivering and selling produce; visiting schools and community venues; growing produce; promotion and marketing activities. The cooperative has developed relationships with a range of partners:

- Visyon and Building Resilient Families team have been given free vouchers to introduce their clients to the project.

- Leek Pharmacy promotes the project to customers whose health would particularly benefit from improved diet through

in-store displays, free samples and voucher distribution.

- All schools in Leek North have received free fruit to support school activities and promote the project to parents.

- Community groups benefitting from the project include Leek Gateway Club, Explorer Soft Play, Haregate Junior Youth

Club, @21, Leek Town AC FC, Leek Town Community Sports, Leek Work Club, Haregate Baby Massage group,

Haregate Gardening Club.

- Food is donated to the project through Fareshare, Tesco, Morrisons and Leek Allotment Holders Association

An arrangement has been agreed with Leek & District Foodbank whereby anyone in receipt of a food parcel is given a free voucher for fruit and veg from the project. This is reciprocated by the Foodbank passing on excess stock for sale in the Community Cupboard.

6. Minimum Inputs Establish and deliver a Food Co-operative.

Marketing and communications, maximising the use of modern technology.

Set up of distribution centre/storage.

Set up of distribution systems in the community.

Ensure adequate supply of food and other products, working with local food and other producers.

Comments on minimum inputs: - The food cooperative has been successfully established as a popular local resource which is valued by the community. Social media has been instrumental to the success of the project, providing a cost-effective way to promote the cooperative and communicate with its members. By achieving over 700 Facebook likes the project has established a direct, low-cost line of communication with its members and the wider community.

7. Minimum Outputs A fully operational food co-operative linked to other local provision and embedded in the communities it serves.

Number of people engaged with the food co-op delivery.

Total numbers involved.

Total number of distribution points.

Total number of volunteers.

Total numbers undertaking training opportunities.

Total numbers of beneficiaries.

Benefits to the community infrastructure.

Partnerships developed and numbers of organisations involved with delivery.

Comments on minimum outputs: - Successfully establishing the cooperative has required the input of a wide range of local people:

– 29 volunteers.

– 4 distribution points.

– 1480 beneficiaries (based on 617 households joining the project with an average household size of 2.4).

– 84 people undertook training opportunities.

The project has brought significant improvements for the community infrastructure, linking previously unconnected groups and activities together and acting as a catalyst for an increase in health and wellbeing activities. It has established food, nutrition, health and wellbeing in the day to day operation of Haregate Community Centre and the groups who use the centre. Examples of this include a parent and toddler group whose transformation into a breakfast club has dramatically increased numbers attending, weekly food-based family activities which have become a fixture of centre life during school holidays. Accessing excess supermarket food through FareShare and directly from retailers has brought significant quantities of food into the target community. This food is made available through the Community Cupboard, attracting local people into centre and the cooperative, and generating an income for the centre. Schools and community groups access food from the community cupboard for regular activities and events, which reduces their costs while increasing their appeal to their service users. The cooperative is often the first contact with the community centre that the public has, with a large proportion of members not having visited the premises previously. This has presented an opportunity to promote the other activities of the centre to cooperative members, leading to increased participation and a positive impression of the centre. Notably several people from the streets adjacent to the centre, where opposition to its construction was strongest have entered the centre for the first time to access the cooperative.

8. Conclusion: - Over the first year of its operation the food cooperative has become established as a fixture of community life in Leek North, and a trusted food supplier. Families and individuals have incorporated produce from the cooperative into their weekly food shop, and have reported that it has resulted in them both saving money and eating a more varied diet due to the variation in produce received each week. Volunteers engaged in the project have increased their skills and confidence, helping them to secure full-time paid employment in two instances, and leading to additional volunteering at the community centre for four others. The cooperative has become integral to the work of Haregate Community Centre, acting as a link between all groups using the centre and galvanising its staff and volunteers into taking a more proactive interest in the health and wellbeing of their community. The strength of the food cooperative model lies in its simplicity, which makes it potentially replicable in any similar community, and the learning from this 12-month funding period has put the project in a position to expand when funding allows.

Community and Individual Outcomes

Improvement in Financial Inclusion

Improvement in personal financial management Improved access to support with income and financial planning

Improved employment & skills opportunities

Regular volunteering Regular attendance at a voluntary or local organisation Undertaking training for employment

Improvement in Health & Wellbeing

Improved dietary behaviours Increase in confidence, skills and knowledge Reduction in feelings of isolation, exclusion and loneliness Reported increase in levels of independence Increased involvement within the community

Increased sense of belonging within a community Increased sense of resilience