Applications are now open for our innovative new Regional Food Hubs Support Programme. Apply here to be part of our January 2025 cohort!
Regional Food Hubs are critical to creating the local, agroecological food system we want to see, but there is presently little sector-specific training and support available to help ensure their success.
We know that many Sustainable Food Places are developing Food Hubs as part of their local action plan, and for the purposes of this programme we define a Regional Food Hub as: ‘An organisation providing physical and digital infrastructure to enable locally-produced food to be sold to other businesses and/or public bodies’.
To help support Regional Food Hubs and grow routes to market for agroecological produce, Better Food Traders have teamed up with Sustain, the Soil Association and Growing Communities to deliver a 12-month programme of sector-specific training, peer-learning and bespoke business advice for managers of Regional Food Hubs. This will run from January to December 2025.
The programme is aimed at hubs that are in the start-up phase, as well as those that are more established but looking to scale-up or scale-out their business and operations. Hubs that are currently only operating as B2C but are looking to build in an element of B2B/B2G trading in the future will also be considered.
The cohort will be made up of managers from up to 15 different hubs, ideally two staff from each enterprise, allowing people doing similar work around the UK to share knowledge, experiences and advice, as well as gain new skills and do some big-picture thinking.
The programme will include:
- 10-12 online webinars, with the syllabus co-created by participants (1.5-2hrs)
- Monthly online peer-learning sessions (1.5-2hrs)
- 1:1 bespoke business support session with Julie Brown, Director of Growing Communities
- Participants matched as ‘Accountability Partners’, to build connections and peer support across the cohort.
Building knowledge for the sector:
To capture what works and what doesn’t, and to identify some of the factors that determine success, each webinar and peer learning session will be attended by an ‘observer’ who works on food hubs at the policy, research and programmatic level. The observers will provide shared notes throughout the programme, and a Lessons Learned document will capture these broader observations and learnings to inform the Sustainable Food Places programme and aid thinking on further policy, funding and practical support.
If you run a Regional Food Hub, you can apply to join the programme by filling in this application form. The deadline for applications is Friday 22nd November.
Please contact lois@betterfoodtraders.org if you have any questions or would like more information about this programme.