For Covid-19 updates and information click here

Community cafes and retailing

Cafes in communities

Are you involved in running a café in a local community (geographical or shared interest) run for local people and/or by local people on a charitable, ‘not for profit’or enterprise basis? Whether your café is informal in a community centre or church, set up as a social enterprise, community interest company or other, run 1 …

Posted in CFHS updates, Events and conferences, News, Research and consultations | Areas of Work: , |

Self-evaluation programme for community cafes

Between August 2017 and March 2018 we worked with a small group of community cafes to look at self-evaluation.  Together they developed a list of community cafe outcomes to reflect the range of differences cafes can make for their customers, volunteers and community members. Six of the cafés involved carried out self-evaluation activities in the last few months. …

Posted in CFHS updates, News | Areas of Work: , |

Community Food Social Enterprise Network and community retailers ‘sharing good practice’ sessions

Around 40 community food initiatives took part in an event on 7 March, run jointly by CFHS and Senscot. A community food social enterprise network session was held in the morning, and a community retailers ‘sharing good practice’ session in the afternoon. The morning session looked at issues that community food social enterprises (or aspiring …

Posted in CFHS updates, Events and conferences, News | Areas of Work: , |

‘Take Five’ national community cafe networking event, 28 September 2017

‘Take Five’ was the fifth national community café networking event run by/with Community Food and Health (Scotland). Around 30 people took part. Our event was held in City of Edinburgh Methodist Church (which runs the Well Café, a community café), and included workshops, activities and lots of time for networking. We began with a short ‘laughter …

Posted in CFHS updates | Area of Work: |

Strengthening the future for community retailers

This publication is an accessible summary of research carried for us out in 2016 by the University of Stirling’s Institute for Retail Studies. It looked at the sustainability of community retailing. It includes the research’s key finding and recommendations. Strengthening the future for community retailers (pdf)

Publishers: , | Publication category: | Related topics: , , , | Area of Work: |

Community Food Social Enterprise Network and community retailers ‘sharing good practice’ sessions

Grassmarket Community Project Edinburgh Senscot and CFHS are running two sessions on 7 March for community food social enterprises and community retailers. The morning session will discuss issues currently being experienced by community food social enterprises and agree future actions/supports in relation to sustainability and growth (funding, collaboration and enterprise). Partnership for Procurement (P4P team …

Posted in CFHS updates, Events and conferences, News | Area of Work: |

New community retailing publications

Two new publications about community retailing are now available. Strengthening the future of community retailing is an accessible summary of research carried out for us in 2016 by the University of Stirling’s Institute for Retail Studies. It looked at the sustainability of community retailing. It includes the research’s key findings and recommendations. Staying power compares the …

Posted in CFHS updates, News, Publications news | Area of Work: |

Staying power

This publication consolidates and reflects on the key findings and recommendations included in five pieces of research about community retailing, which were carried out between 2007 and 2016 It also considers notes and reports of a community retailing round table, and events and meetings held for community retailers and stakeholders. Staying power (pdf)

Publishers: , | Publication category: | Related topics: , , , | Area of Work: |

Community café self evaluation group – outcomes to evaluate impact

We have been working with a group of community cafes to look at self-evaluation. Together they have developed a list of community cafe outcomes to reflect the range of differences cafes can make for their customers, volunteers and community members. We shared these with workshop delegates at ‘Sharing Patter’, our annual networking conference in November 2017,  who confirmed these outcomes reflected the …

Posted in CFHS updates, News, Research and consultations | Areas of Work: , |

Community retailers get together to share good practice

Six community retailers met recently to share what was working well for them, their ideas for their community retailing services, and the challenges they were facing. A short report of the meeting is now available (below).  Another meeting’s been arranged for Thursday 25 January, in central Glasgow  – all community retailers welcome to come along. More …

Posted in CFHS updates, News | Area of Work: |