Have you thought of publishing a recipe book, selling produce or charging for cookery demonstrations? Many community food initiatives trade or sell services as part or all of their activities and this has the advantage of keeping them less dependent on grant funding.
Some community food initiatives also win contracts to deliver public services locally, for example providing fruit in schools or out-of-school gardening clubs.
Where to go for information
- Trading: SCVO gives some useful advice on what to consider if you are thinking about starting to trade
- Just Enterprise: central hub for social enterprise start-up and development support; includes procurement support and learning and development opportunities
- Partnership for Procurement (P4P): works with enterprising third sector organisations to build their capacity to better secure contracts or funding through partnerships or consortia
- Forth Sector Development: provide procurement support and training for third sector organisations. They also have produced a guide to Tendering for Public Sector Contracts (PDF)
- Community Food Social Enterprise Network: support network for social enterprises and aspiring social enterprises
Resources
- Public Sector Contracts: you can access tender documents here
- Ready for Business: also have tender documents, plus a register of social enterprises for public sector commissioners where you can list what services you can provide