The Plunkett Foundation holds a series of events each year. Below is information on one of our most recent events - the fourth Community Shop Networking event. Details on other previous events can be found by clicking on the tabs on the left.
This month saw the fourth Community Shops Networking Event take place in Ardingly, Sussex, where over 60 delegates attended to take advantage of the expert advice on offer on how to increase sales by stocking local produce.
The event, which was held at the idyllic Wakehurst Place, saw a fantastic marketplace filled with produce from Sussex, from fresh vegetables from Plawhatch Community Farm to locally brewed beer from WJ King. Those in attendance were treated to presentations in the marketplace from local food expert Charlotte Foster, who showed people how to create fabulous local food hampers in time for Christmas, and Plunkett Foundation’s very own Queen of Shops, Sarah Mayell, who shared her marketing and display expertise, and went through some ‘Dos and Don’ts’ of displaying local food.
Interactive workshops on the day ran through a range of practical top tips and guidance on a range of retail topics including marketing, local food networking and sourcing, customer service and planning your shop space. All delegates benefited from the knowledge and experience of our leading retail consultants on the day and took the opportunity to ask questions, learn from other community-owned shops and were able to take away a refreshed ‘to do’ list for their shop.
The workshops and exhibitions highlighted the range of support the Plunkett Foundation is able to offer. Please see below for further signposting to support we have available to community-owned shops across the country.
Plunkett Foundation Community Shops Network
Find out how your shop can benefit from being part of something of something big. Join our membership scheme specifically created for community-owned shops and access exclusive offers to help save your shop money as well as creating greater recognition and providing a voice for community shops across the UK.
http://www.plunkett.uk.net/sites/default/files/membership/membership.pdf
Are you keen to learn more about marketing? Or promoting your shop to your community? Or sourcing local produce? Or helping your team of volunteers with customer service? We are able to support you and your shop through mentoring and study visits. Contact Olivia and let us know what areas you are keen to find out more about and we will arrange a visit to another community food enterprise that are successfully delivering on this particular topic. Contact Olivia on Olivia.Gardner@plunkett.co.uk or 01993 814386 to find out more.
Look for Local
With the Making Local Food Work programme committed to supporting rural shops to stock more local produce we are now developing a Look for Local website to allow shops to access practical tools and resources. We invited comments and ideas at Stocking Local: Growing Sales which will help us provide an up to date, useful and valuable tool for all community shops. The website will be launched shortly so keep an eye on www.plunkett.uk.net for more information.
And don’t forget….. the dedicated community shop team at Plunkett Foundation!
You are able to contact the team here at the Plunkett Foundation with any questions you may have about running a community shop or how to get started. If you have a question on finance, legal structures, managing volunteers, funding your project, then we are here to help. If you have a question about your community shop project then please call Katie on 01993 814378 or email on katie.pittaway@plunkett.co.uk .