Fwd: Help us Develop a Fruit Harvesting Network - Abundance Survey

[Food Sharing Edinburgh]

Please see survey to fill out for Abundance!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Viv Stein <vivs...@yahoo.com>
Date: 23 May 2017 at 17:34
Subject: Help us Develop a Fruit Harvesting Network - Abundance Survey
To: Viv Stein <vivs...@yahoo.com>

Hello

The Abundance Network is a loose collection of autonomous groups who pick and distribute surplus fruit in their local area - to stop it going to waste and to benefit the community.

There is scope to develop this network to strengthen and build on the experiences of the different harvesting groups. A more cohesive network could potentially support these groups by sharing experiences, learning from each other and developing best practice. This would aim to facilitate many new projects to start up, and help existing projects to thrive and become more sustainable. Groups would remain independent as now, but be part of a more active and growing movement.

A few of us have been discussing the wider potential of urban harvesting with our friends in The Orchard Project and Feedback recently, and each of them has expressed a willingness, in theory, to host and lightly support a post to carry out this work, if we were to secure funding. As they each have the organisational infrastructure set up already, that would allow us to avoid such complexity and structure ourselves. Initial work would focus on London, with the hope of expanding to other areas (or nationwide) as a second phase.

In applying for funding to develop the Abundance network, we would first need to show support for this from groups across the network, and have a strong enough sense of what the funding could achieve to be able to attract a funder in the first place. A steering group, made up of our own members, would also be needed to guide the project and steer any funded role.

We are contacting members of fruit harvesting groups in the UK – existing, emerging, or no longer active, to seek their views in this survey https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/5YZPFBW.

The information you provide will be treated confidentially. The results will be anonymised, compiled into a report and made available to harvesting groups, Feedback and The Orchard Project. Further in-depth interviews with a smaller number of groups may follow. Findings will be used to support funding applications. You can let us know if you'd like to hear more about the project and how you can be involved at the end of the survey.

Your views are important to help take this forward! Please pass this on to others who may be interested.

Could you please respond by 5pm Monday 12th June.  It should take 10 to 15 minutes.

Thank you!

Viv Stein

(for the Abundance Network)

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Jess Acton

Project Facilitator
Food Sharing Edinburgh

Office No: 0131 2201884

Please note my working hours are Monday - Thursday