Blyth Valley Food Coops to North East Food Chain

Leaders : David Browning and Simon McCabe

From local community centres to a regional food network

The Food Chain (North East) Company is a food distribution network supplying 24 food coo-ops in disadvantaged communities across the North East with affordable, fresh, and where possible, local food. Vegetables and eggs are bought directly from local producers, broken down in the unit in Gateshead market, and delivered to the various co-ops.

Originally established by Blyth Valley’s health development team as Blyth Valley Food Cooperative in 2004, it began with a small number of communities who had already begun to organise themselves by starting a garden, or planting fruit trees. The North East Food Chain was built from the bottom up, based on these communities and now supplies over 500 families.

This workshop will explore the founding of the project over a period of 2-3 years up to 2004 and its subsequent progress up to the present day. What was the original rationale? How did we engage with local groups & communities? What was the point of a community development process? The array of health, community development & adult education activities. Was it just consumption? How did local food production arise? How the work persists five years later.

Simon McCabe Food Chain North East CIC and David Browning: Former Health Development Manager - Northumberland Care Trust

http://www.sustainweb.org/sauce/food_chain_north_east_company/