Event
A North West England Field Trip with Better Food Traders
Interested in connecting with sustainable, independent traders and learning how alternative food retailers are building a more resilient, community-led food system?
Join Better Food Traders on their visit to Squash Liverpool, an award-winning urban shop and café, and Kindling Farm, a pioneering 77-acre farm, where you’ll see firsthand how independent, sustainable and ethical food businesses are scaling up without losing their roots.
The Itinerary
Morning: Urban Impact in Toxteth
- 10:00 AM | Squash (L8): Visit Squash, an award-winning community-led shop, cafe and garden. Explore their unique business model and “enterprise stacking” – seeing how community urban growing integrates with retail and hospitality.
Afternoon: Scaling Up at Kindling Farm
- 12:00 PM | Transfer & Field Lunch: A 20-minute hop east takes us to Kindling Farm (L35). Enjoy a communal “field lunch” featuring food from Squash.
- 01:00 PM | Guided Farm Tour: Led by the Kindling team, explore the vision for this 77-acre site, discussing their transition into a multi-layer organic system.
The Training: The “Community Wealth” Toolkit
- 02:30 PM – 04:30 PM | Interactive Session: How do you fund high-cost infrastructure—like land, electric vans, or walk-in fridges—without traditional bank debt? Kindling Farm famously raised over £1M through community shares. This “how-to” session will provide actionable insights into using community support to fuel your business’s growth.
Why attend?
Connect: Build meaningful relationships with fellow food traders and others in the BFT Network in the North of England.
Learn: Improve your knowledge around community share modeling and urban retail.
Grow: See the blueprints for the future of Northwest agriculture and food retail.
