Update from the chairman

Annual General Meeting

Our AGM will be held at the United Reformed Church in Orwell Road, Felixstowe on Friday 9 November at 7.30pm.  All are welcome but only members of the Forum will be eligible to vote.  The AGM will receive reports on activity during the past year, plans for the future and the audited accounts.  Committee members for the following year will also be elected.

Shops and Cafes Serving Fairtrade

In early summer we updated the part of this website showing shops and cafes selling Fairtrade products, in a form which can easily be downloaded and printed.  Please take a look at it by clicking on the ‘Shops and Cafes’ link and let us know what you think.  On the page, if you click on the box ‘print detail page’ you will also see the poster we produced to go with the printed form of the list.  This has been displayed and made available to visitors to Felixstowe to encourage them to support local businesses selling Fairtrade products.

Although we are pleased at the range of Fairtrade goods available at local shops we are disappointed that Greggs and Café Ology at the leisure centre appear to be the only cafes in Felixstowe serving the full range of Fairtrade drinks.

To make sure we have not missed anyone we are circulating the list to all cafes in Felixstowe with an invitation to contact us if the information is incomplete. We are also planning a campaign for Fairtrade Fortnight (25 Feb – 10 March) to encourage more cafes to serve Fairtrade drinks – particularly tea.

You can help by asking you favourite café to consider serving Fairtrade – if they do not do so already.

The Future for Fairtrade

The third annual meeting of the Suffolk Association of Fairtrade Towns (SAFT) was held in Felixstowe on 30 June.  In the afternoon Michael Gidney, the Chief Executive of the Fairtrade Foundation gave a talk on ‘The Future for Fairtrade’.  He said that, as far as he knew, Suffolk was the only county to have formed a network of Fairtrade towns and commended the initiative.

He said, globally, Fairtrade sales increased by over 11% in the last year generating $150m in Fairtrade premiums – the amount paid to communities in addition to the fair price for produce and goods.  A key element of Fairtrade is that the spending of the Fairtrade premium should be decided locally and democratically.  In the UK Fairtrade sales grew by 7%, with more supermarkets and restaurant chains taking an active role.

Mike also emphasised the importance of making sure that, in the post Brexit world, the interests of Fairtrade farmers and producers are protected.

For more information on SAFT visit their website at: www.suffolkfairtrade.org.uk

Art on the Prom

We were at Art on the Prom on 2 September where we will had a stall selling Fairtrade drinks and bananas.  Tighter restrictions on the organisers meant we were unable to offer homemade cake – but it was a lovely day and we flew the flag for Fairtrade to the thousands who attended the event.

Join our Team of Volunteers

If you support Fairtrade and would like to help in promoting it we are always on the lookout for volunteers. We would provide all necessary support and would not expect you to do more than you feel comfortable with. Contact us if you would like more information and we would be happy to discuss.  Even if you are not able to help we would welcome you as a member of the Forum.  Membership is free, you can join via this website and by joining you can demonstrate your support for Fairtrade.

Please be assured, Fairtrade really does make a difference.

Regards,

Alan Muchal