Welcome to the Better Food Traders

Windmill Community Gardens, Margate

Thank you so much for today’s session, I really enjoyed it and found it very informative… it also reminded me of what a brilliant network Better Food Traders is.

Crop Drop Veg Box Scheme, Haringey

Thanks so much for the social care and thought that you and your team have put into the Better Food Traders organisation. You have supported us all in many different ways – a network I’m truly proud of being part of… thank you!

Online Library of Resources

Yes! I want to join the workspace

WHAT THE BFT NETWORK IS ALL ABOUT

Better Food Traders supports small and medium-sized enterprises who are aligned with our mission – to create a visible, thriving food retail system that supports the environment, farming communities, local economies and local people.

Here in your membership area you’ll find:

Events Info – Training sessions run by external experts; our regular Meet-Ups for Shopkeepers, Veg Box Schemes and Marketing Leads; workshops and 1:1 advice slots offered at Business Support Week in January; our Annual Gathering in June and more…
Access to our Online Library – a treasure trove of toolkits, advice, useable materials and other resources.
Peer Support – via our community on the Slack platform. Instant help and advice from others in the network, and a place to connect with other like-minded people.
Benchmarking – links to our fab Statistics Dashboard and info about our other data projects that will help you understand your business better.

If you have any questions, Nicki and Nicola are here to help you on membership@betterfoodtraders.org

Your Impact

As a member, we also recommend you do three things to underpin how you create impact and help change the food system:

1. Write or update your mission statement – putting this in your governing document or on your website shows your staff and customers what you stand for.

2. Track your supplier spend according to organic/non-organic and own-grown/bought direct from producers/bought from a wholesaler, so you have a clear picture of how you are sourcing.

3. Create or update your buying policy – a written policy that prioritises small and medium UK organic farmers demonstrates to staff and customers your commitment to local, sustainable supply chains.

Donations

We ask for donations from our Better Food Trader members to help fund the network.

We are committed to the donation being affordable and offer a scale of levels based on your turnover. You choose the contribution level that feels right for you. We invite more established businesses to pay a higher contribution in order to subsidise younger/smaller enterprises.

Contact

For all enquiries, please contact our Network Manager Nicki East.

General Advice Disclaimer

The information provided by members and organisations on the Better Food Traders workspace and in training events organised by or paid for by the Better Food Traders team is for general guidance only and is not a substitute for professional legal or accounting advice.

Better Food Traders will not accept liability for any loss, damage or inconvenience arising as a consequence of any use of or the inability to use any information from these sources.

To find a chartered accountant: https://www.icas.com/find-a-ca

To find a solicitor or other legal adviser in your area, you can use the Civil Legal Advice (CLA) Legal Adviser Directory. Go to the Ministry of Justice website at www.gov.uk.