Plunkett News

A shining example of how communities are taking control of their futures came this week with the announcement that the Making Local Food Work programme, delivered in part by the Plunkett Foundation, has already benefitted over 1.4million people.Making Local Food Work, which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme, reported that it had already exceeded its target of reaching out to 1million people by 2012, with a staggering 1.4million people being provided with better access to local food by sustainable community enterprises.

Herefordshire Farmers’ Market Group has been taking advantage of a scheme offered through the Plunkett Foundation’s Making Local Food Work programme which facilitates the sharing of expertise and experience to enhance its performance.It was noticed that Taunton Farmers’ Market, which takes place on Thursdays, returned more than twice as much value as the Hereford Thursday and Saturday markets combined during a presentation of its Retail HealthCheck TM results.

The decision to pull the plug on the £3.3million Community-Owned Pubs Support Programme promised to help the 39 communities each week who face the loss of their local pub has far-reaching implications for communities across England. BBC Radio 4’s current affairs programme You and Yours enlisted the help of the Plunkett Foundation’s Mike Perry to investigate how the decision will affect real people in real communities who had been counting on the funding to help salvage one of the few remaining focal points of community life. Click here to listen to the programme.

A race against time has begun to help communities wanting to save their local pub after the Government turned its back on offering support to the 39 communities facing pub closures every week.

Peter Cleasby has been elected as the new Chair of the Plunkett Foundation.  Peter succeeds Susan Knox OBE in the role.Peter Cleasby joined the Plunkett Board in April 2008, becoming Vice-Chair in February 2009.  Until 2006 he was a deputy director of rural policy at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), championing social enterprise approaches across the Department’s business.

A review of the economic, social and environmental impacts of rural social enterprise in England is to be undertaken. The Plunkett Foundation is undertaking this research on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Office for Civil Society within the Cabinet Office.The research and development project will collect evidence on the contributions made by social enterprises to rural communities.

A number of community-owned shops and representatives stepped up to the co-operative mark at the Co-operatives 2010 three day long conference. The event brought together a range of community shops, from those in their first year of trading through to those that had been up and running for 16 years, as well communities pushing forward to open their shops in the very near future. As well as shop representatives, a number of regional advisers and retails experts were in attendance and it was clear that there was a great deal of experience and knowledge to share, as well as delegates...

Plunkett Foundation is looking for a research partner to condense the theory and research that exists on influencing consumer behaviour into practical application relating to local food purchasing.  The work will identify the most effective routes to changing consumer behaviour in the current economic and environmental climate, with a particular focus on opportunities for community food enterprises to be used as vehicles for change.

'Never before have the solutions that the Plunkett Foundation supports attracted so much attention in a single year.'Plunkett Foundation Annual Review 2010 (pdf)Introduction by Peter Couchman, Chief Executive The majority of national newspapers ran stories about rural communities taking control. The main Party manifestos each made reference to the importance of saving shops and pubs. Our reputation grew even more when the good people of Ambridge decided to save their village shop with the help of Plunkett.

Two distinguished co-operators have been awarded Fellowships by the Plunkett Foundation at their annual seminar and AGM in Oxford on 9 June.   Edgar Parnell, former Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation, and Dr Rita Rhodes, academic and writer on international co-operation and a long standing member of the Plunkett Foundation, were awarded their Fellowships for their outstanding contribution to the work of the Plunkett Foundation.PHOTO: Susan Knox (Plunkett Foundation Chair), Rita Rhodes, Edgar Parnell and Peter Couchman (Plunkett Foundation Chief Executive)  Edgar Parnell, speaking at th