Futurebuilders Scotland Case Study
Community Food Initiatives North East (CFINE) |
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Seedcorn Award: £40,000
Start Date: June 2005
Community Food Initiatives North East (CFINE) promotes health and addresses food poverty by increasing access to affordable, healthy food. It achieves this through supporting Community Food outlets and providing a ‘Fast Fruit’ service to schools, nurseries and other community facilities in Aberdeen.
Investment Requirement:
Investment from Futurebuilders Scotland was required to part-fund a Development Worker to update a business plan for the venture, prepare promotional materials, and develop and negotiate sales contracts. It also enabled CFINE to employ a driver/storeperson, lease a van and adapt their premises.
Key Objectives:
Among the key objectives set for the project were to:
• promote health through improved diet
• build personal and community capacity and confidence in and with excluded and disadvantaged geographical and interest communities
• establish a trading arm of CFINE based on food purchase, organisation and distribution
Key Outcomes:
This venture is reported to be progressing extremely well. A driver/store person was recruited as planned but it was necessary to lease two vans rather than not one due to high levels of demand. There are plans to lease more vehicles in future as the business expands.
Suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables have been sourced, although a switch in suppliers was required to ensure competitive costs
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As well as being able to increase the efficiency of its Fast Fruit’ service to schools, nurseries and other community facilities has now CFINE has been able to expand establishing a trading arm to distribute fruit to companies involved in Scotland’s Health at Work (SHAW) initiative, which promotes healthy eating to employees.
The organisation has also started to deliver fruit and vegetables to areas outside of its established base of operations. For example it now provides soup mix packs for the elderly people accommodated in sheltered housing across a wide geography.
The increased demand from both community facilities and businesses has created additional volunteering opportunities in warehousing. These have been offered to individuals with learning disabilities. Appropriate support provided.
It was initially anticipated that the income generated from this initiative would create a financially viable service, and would contribute to the long-term financial prospects of CFINE.
CFINE reports a significant growth in sales from the venture and a healthy profit from sales to corporate customers. This progress is in line with early expectations and the goal is for CFINE to operate independently of public grant funding in three years time.
Key Lessons:
Among the key lessons highlighted by CFINE is the importance of:
• developing commercial activities which fit with the organisation’s existing skills, capacities and interests
• fully harnessing the enthusiasm and commitment of staff to develop and take forward plans
• having a clear project/business plan in place and monitoring progress against this on a regular basis
• sourcing supplies cheaply and having a competitive pricing strategy that is in line with customer expectations
• researching and testing your market thoroughly in advance of significantly up scaling commercial activity
• back to Seedcorn fund awards
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• Local Social Economy Partnerships
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