Launch of the 'Living Local Toolkit'

The following article has been extracted from the NFWI website: Do you want more local food in your community? We’ve got the tools to help you get it!

			Through the 90@90 project, the NFWI has developed a toolkit to be used by WIs, community groups, parishes, shops and suppliers to help raise awareness about local food issues and get everyone working together to promote and increase local food sourcing in your community.

Over a 9 month period, the NFWI piloted a project in Bampton, Devon, working with the local shop and suppliers to trial a range of initiatives. As a result a host of local suppliers established links with local shops, the local Spar shop saw an increase in sales and the community became more aware of the importance of local food. Based on the successes in Bampton, we’ve now finalised the WI Living Local toolkit so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of increased local food in their communities. The toolkit is made up of numerous documents, templates and instructions to provide you with a range of initiatives for your very own Living Local project. We would like Living Local to be used by all members of your community; working together to raise awareness of all the wonderful benefits local food sourcing has to offer.

The items in this toolkit will provide you with guidance on how to get started, no matter how big or small your Living Local project will be. Whether you are looking for information on how to approach local businesses, organise a tasting session, or give presentations to your local school, there are an abundance of tools to help you on your way. We want you to be creative; the toolkit documents can be used individually or as a set, as each Living Local project will be unique to your community’s needs.

With British Food Fortnight rapidly approaching (22 September 2007) we hope to see the Living Local brand popping up in communities all around the country, and in turn, begin to reverse the current food sourcing trends and bring local food back to our shops and to our plates! If you are interested in co-ordinating and/ or supporting the 'Living Local Project' for FWI please contact Sarah Cook