Food distribution and the supply chain

These resources on food distribution and supply were produced as part of the Making Local Food Work programme:

A growing trade
A guide for community groups that want to sell food in towns and cities.

A healthy profit: a simple guide to pricing the food you make and grow
Helping you to price your produce so that you can cover costs and make enough profit to fund other social and environmental activities.

Joining the dots: collaborative food buying & sustainable distribution for London restaurants
A report analysing the opportunities for improving the sustainability and economic viability of food supply chains serving small, community-based food enterprises.

Supply chain brokerage: more local food for Cambridge University (pdf)
A report on the activities and outcomes of a supply chain brokerage project.

Food hubs and producer cooperation

Building a sustainable community food hub
Three combined reports looking at:

  • Adding value through catering services
  • Distributing surplus from allotments
  • Supplying food access projects

An investigation into the services of small scale food hubs
Examines a group of food hubs, what they have in common, how they differ, and how the organisers have sought to overcome the challenges they face.

Buying groups and food co-ops

Food coop toolkit
A brilliant comprehensive manual from Sustain on how to set up a food coop or buying group.

Growing a grocery (pdf download 2.9MB)
A guide to starting and growing a wholefood cooperative. From Unicorn Grocery in Manchester

Setting up an organic buying group (pdf download)
A short and useful guide to setting up an organic buying group from Soil Association.