What we do – some of our projects
Mid Wales Food and Land Trust delivers a diverse range of projects with an underlying theme of sustainable community development through local food.
Some of our main projects at the present time are:
Powys CHEFS Project – Cooking, Healthy Eating and Food Skills
This is a three-year Big Lottery funded project, delivering community based cookery courses across Montgomeryshire and Radnor in Powys. Each cookery course consists of six sessions – one three-hour session per week. In each session, participants prepare a full meal from scratch using seasonal, fresh ingredients and then share the meal together as a celebration of good food.
Courses are available to all community groups and organisations, including a group of people getting a list together of people who want to join in. The courses are free, and all ingredients are provided.
For more information, go to our Powys CHEFS website
Or contact Cath or Sioned at the office
School Farmers Markets
Mid Wales Food and Land Trust pioneered the development of the first ever School Farmers Markets in the UK, developing a network of School Farmers Markets across Powys. Now, working in partnership with the Soil Association, the Trust is working with schools nationwide to show schools how to develop their own School Farmers Markets as a real school enterprise – the school children develop and manage their own market with direction and support from the Trust, and then the children leave a project business plan for other pupils to follow in planning their second and subsequent markets.
These are real farmers markets held in school and community halls – however School Farmers Markets are more than just a market – they are social events for the whole community, held for a few hours after school, which gives the opportunity for the adults to meet the producers and each other, usually with refreshments provided by the Parents Teachers Association.
In addition to the children being strongly involved with the markets themselves, the opportunities are even greater. Some producers host school – farm visits so that the pupils can understand the whole process of food from farm to plate, The schools also generate an income through the market, which raises much needed funds towards other sustainability projects, including transport for the farm visits, tools and seeds for school growing projects, and other activities.
Download a bilingual leaflet on school farmers markets here.
Go to our school farmers market website here.
The School Farmers Market Project is just one of a number of curriculum-linked school enterprise projects that the Trust has on offer – for more information about school farmers markets or other school enterprise projects, please contact Sioned or Jane at the office.
Other Initiatives and Activities
Innovation
Mid Wales Food and Land Trust seeks to generate new local initiatives and work towards making these sustainable in the long term. The Trust developed the Welsh Food Festival in partnership with Glansevern Hall Gardens, running the festival jointly over the first four years until the Festival was established as a separate legal identity in 2011.
The Trust also has a number of exciting initiatives at project development stage, including the development of potential business models for community-owned social enterprises meeting identified local needs.
Work with Schools – ESDGC (Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship) and School Enterprise
In addition to the School Farmers Market project, Mid Wales Food and Land Trust can provide a range of curriculum-linked projects helping schools to deliver the themes of ESDGC and Enterprise.
What makes our projects different is that we work to leave a sustainable legacy – after the project has finished the school will be left with resources developed by the children working on the project, which will serve as a “business plan” for the next year of children working to repeat the project at a later date.
Work with Communities and Organisations
Our staff team consists of experienced professionals in the fields of project management, social enterprise, community development and capacity building and education.
We are happy to provide help and support to voluntary and not-for-profit organisations on a consultancy basis at very competitive preferential rates.
We also provide effective community engagement and participation processes for statutory authorities and agencies, from one-off events to a full programme of engagement.
All community engagement work can be carried out through the medium of Welsh and English.
For more information about our consultancy work, please contact Cath or Jane at the office.
