17011-07 Eating E:Layout 1 5/6/07 15:35 Page 1 17011-07 Eating E:Layout 1 5/6/07 15:35 Page 2 How to... A Guide to Community Food Activities If you would like this pamphlet in a different format or in Welsh, please contact Swansea Public Health Team on 01792 784858. Contents 1. Introduction - Healthy Eating and Menu Planning - Food Miles - Feedback Sheet 2. Growing: - Growing Your Own Food - Allotments - Plant a Fruit Tree Scheme 3. Buying: - Food Co-operative - Local Produce Market - Pick Your Own - Food For Free 4. Cooking: - Healthy Cooking Activities 5. Eating: - Community Café - Eating Together - Food of the World Event Designed and Printed by DesignPrint 01792 544200 Ref.17011-07 17011-07 Eating E:Layout 1 5/6/07 15:35 Page 3 How to... A Guide to Community Food Activities Healthy Eating Community Café What is a Healthy Eating Community Café? A Healthy Eating Café is a social meeting place which runs on a not-for-profit basis, so any money made is ploughed back into the organisation to help it run. It is there for the benefit of the whole community, employing local people, and aims to help the local community provide themselves with healthy affordable food. Benefits ● The use of a community café provides a place to meet for an informal chat and can act as a focal point for the community; ● Healthy food choices; ● Local employment; ● Can address environmental issues - Growing, Composting, Recycling; ● Can raise ‘Fair Trade’ issues; ● Possible renovation of a local building, thus having a visual impact on the area. How do you set up a Community Café? First Steps ● Needs a group of committed local people and it is helpful to have a range of skills and knowledge within the group to guide your work. Organisations like Communities Mean Business and Wales Coop Centre are helpful to guide you through the process. - Contact Communities Mean Business (Tel: 01792 545050) and the Wales Coop Centre (Tel: 02920 556170). ● You need to find out if people want a community café and whether they would use it, by asking a wide variety of people in the area. Do this by checking out ideas with local groups and individual contacts. Take into consideration what competition there is, e.g. other cafés, pubs serving food/teas/coffees etc. This can also be useful for sourcing a local supplier; ● Develop a vision of what the community wants to see; 3 17011-07 Eating E:Layout 1 5/6/07 15:35 Page 4 How to... A Guide to Community Food Activities ● Identify a building and start discussions with owners. It needs to be accessible and well located. Apart from the kitchen you will need a reasonably large room, which will be welcoming with comfortable chairs and tables, plus appropriate toilet facilities. - The Legal Section of the Council will be involved if the building is to be leased from the Council (Tel: 01792 636000 and ask for the Legal Section). Be aware that setting up a community café can be a long process. It is useful to link with any Development Workers in the area and use their knowledge, skills and networks. The Local Council may be helpful in this process and in particular the following Departments: - Environmental Health - for information/advice/guidance on setting up a kitchen and requirements for serving food to the public - Planning -for advice on planning consent/change of use for buildings - Regeneration for community development support and advice - Technical Services - technical building regulations/architectural advice especially for property under the ownership of the Council - Contact the City & County of Swansea and ask for the Department you want, Tel: 01792 636000 ● You will need to become a fully constituted group if you want to get grant aid. Seek the support of your local Development Worker (if you have one) to help with this. If you are not sure about any Development Worker covering your area, check with the Regeneration Department of the City & County of Swansea (Tel: 01792 635238), or your local Development Trust. Alternatively contact Swansea Council for Voluntary Services (SCVS), who have a lot of experience in helping groups decide on the type of organisation they need to be and in developing appropriate structures. Tel: 01792 544000 ● Start early on looking for funding: - refer to the funding booklet ‘£ind: £unding for Initiatives on Nutrition and Diet’ available through Food Standards Agency. Tel: 02920 678999 - www.food.gov.uk - contact Swansea Council for Voluntary Services who run a system called Fund Finder. Tel: 01792 544000 ● Draw up plans. It is helpful to work with the local council who may offer the support of in-house Architects. However, be aware that you will have to pay for this service. The Java Bean Café Steering Group used £2,500 to develop working drawings. Apply for planning permission if necessary. ● If you are converting a building you will have to employ a builder to carry out the conversion work. You will need a contract for building conversion. 4 17011-07 Eating E:Layout 1 5/6/07 15:35 Page 5 How to... A Guide to Community Food Activities You’re finally getting there! The Next Steps ● Equipment - Go for best quality catering standard equipment. The costs will be part of your ‘Capital’ costs. Check out websites and catering magazines for catering supplies. Auctions can be a useful source for kitchen equipment, but you will not get guarantees with this method of purchasing. Some essential items are: - Heavy duty cooker, wall based emersion heater for boiling water (much easier than an urn), storage facilities, coffee machine, soup cauldron (or two), catering sized sticks/wands for making soups, griddle machine, large catering pans, crockery and cutlery, salt and pepper sets. ● Furnishing of café area. Visit established cafes to get ideas. Write down ideas as you go along in a scrap book. In terms of the kitchen layout, contact the Environmental Health Department as they will give you good advice on how best to plan this space. They will also advise on pest control and hygiene. The Swansea Public Health Team, Tel: 01792 784858, may be able to support with leaflets/posters/advice on healthy eating; ● Staffing - carefully assess how many paid and voluntary staff you will need. This will depend on hours of opening/number of days. - This will be a major “Revenue” cost; - Criminal Records Bureau checks may be needed. Check with SCVS; - If you are employing staff you will need extra funding to cover sickness of staff/holiday cover; - Training - Ensure your staff have appropriate training. Contact Environmental Health Dept, SCVS and Colleges. Food Safety training and First Aid are essential; - Environmental Health Dept 01792 635600, SCVS Tel: 01792 544000, Swansea College Tel: 01792 284000 and ask for Community Operations Coordinator, Gorseinon College Tel: 01792 890700 and Neath College Tel: 01639 648000. ● You will need to develop Policies - Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety, No Smoking. Your Development Worker/SCVS can help with this. 5 17011-07 Eating E:Layout 1 5/6/07 15:35 Page 6 How to... A Guide to Community Food Activities You’re nearly there! The Final Steps! ● Take into consideration Pricing/Ordering/Suppliers. Check out local competition and your chef may have a good idea on costing and quantities for ordering. Start off small and expand gradually! Communities Mean Business may be able to advise you (Tel: 01792 545050). The Wales Coop Centre may also be helpful (Tel: 02920 554955); ● It is useful to have an allotment associated with the Café, supplying fresh fruit/vegetables/ herbs, and recycling waste; ● Some cafes work alongside other facilities eg crèche, training centre. This can help to generate customers on a regular basis, as well as catching passing trade; ● Menu planning - your staff should be able to develop menus ensuring healthy eating is the priority. Taster sessions before trying out a new menu can be useful. Offer plenty of variety for vegetarians and meat eaters. Use the Balance of Good Health Model as a guide and the principle of 5 A Day. See Introductory Section on Healthy Eating and Menu Planning. Examples of Community Cafes ● Java Bean, Glynneath. Tel: 01639 721772; ● Paradise Café, Connect project. Tel: 01792 465383 (for vulnerable adults with various support needs) (Need to be a member to access); ● Owl & Parrot Café, Cyrenians Community Centre Tel: 01792 470127; ● ARC Café, Blaenymaes ( working towards being a healthy eating café) 01792 578632; ● Red Café, Mumbles (for young people) Tel: 01792 362122. A Little Food For Thought! Don’t be put off, but remember... ● Expect the process to take a long time, but hold onto your vision; ● It takes longer than you may think to become self sufficient, so you may need outside funding for quite a long time. But don’t let that put you off - the funding is there to support you through the initial stages. (Thanks to the Java Bean Café for much of the information contained in this section) 6 17011-07 Eating E:Layout 1 5/6/07 15:36 Page 7 How to... A Guide to Community Food Activities Eating Together In this section we have looked at three types of ‘eating together’ activities: Luncheon Clubs, Hosting An Older Peoples’ Dinner and Family Lunches. Luncheon Clubs What is Luncheon Club? A Luncheon Club offers the opportunity for people to come together in a social atmosphere to share lunch. They provide the opportunity to have a nourishing, wholesome, home-cooked meal. They are often aimed at older residents in the area but can be for any age group, depending on local demand.