On the 16th July 2013 Food4Hull organised a free, public event:

Inspiring Food Stories from Manchester

and action we can take in Hull

Helen Woodcock & Chris Walsh from The Kindling Trust came over from Manchester and gave an inspiring talk about some of the things they’d achieved in Manchester.  Here’s a (brief) summary for those who couldn’t make it.

They started a network:  Feeding Manchester
They host periodic events attended by growers, grocers, caterers etc.  Conference style, charge to attend, higher charge for businesses/public sector.
Out of those they identified issues & forged solutions, creating the projects below.

The Feeding Manchester website includes a sustainable food directory.
This website is available for use by other areas, for free.

Land Army
Problem:  Growers had food they could not afford to harvest & was left to rot, while consumers in the city were demanding more local produce but not enough supply.

Every week a group of volunteers goes to help on organic farms.  Does not displace paid work.  Briefing from farmer, but otherwise just get on with it.  Learn organic farming techniques.  usually ~6-8 people, hired minibus.
Started with a £5k grant from Plunkett foundation.  Later a grant for a landrover from Lush.
est. £3:£1 return, but don’t currently charge the farmer.

Farm Start
Problem:  Some young people, often graduates, had an interest in becoming organic farmers but it was difficult to learn the skills & cash flow the first season.  How on earth do you go from an urban full time job + allotment to full time farmer doing large scale farming?

General plan:  Land Army > Course > Farm Start > Farmer

Part of a farm is rented from a retiring farmer.  Divided into long plots.  Let to wannabe farmers, who can practise large scale farming techniques on their plot.  Shared resources, machinery & support.  But this can be done part time.

Veg People
‘A co-operative of local organic growers and restaurants working together to provide fresh, seasonal food of the highest possible quality.’

Problem:  Growers not paid a price that covers the cost of production.

Builds relationships & trust.  Members of the co-op supply produce at a fair, realistic, actual cost, other members buy it.

A report was done for the Local Authority, pilot project supplying soup to a school.

Shared vehicle & cold store.  Just crowd sourced to raise funds for their own.