Update from the chairman
Fairtrade in Lockdown
Like most organisations locally and nationally our
activities since mid-March have been severely restricted. We have tried to keep the Fairtrade message
alive with articles in the local press, the town council magazine and the
library newsletter. Fairtrade farmers
and producers are particularly in need of our support at the present time due
to both the direct effects of the current pandemic and the consequent economic
effects. On Saturday July 11th
we were given an update by Mike Gidney of the Fairtrade Foundation at a
‘virtual conference’ organised by the Suffolk Association of Local Authorities
(SAFT) – see below.
Partly as a result of the conference, which included a live
link to Patrick Kaberia in Kenya, SAFT is organising a link between Suffolk
schools and Kenya for Fairtrade Fortnight 2021 (22 Feb – 7 March). Local school, Trimley St Mary Primary, is one
of three schools in the county helping organise this. They will be providing pupils and questions
to put to Patrick. For more information
visit www.suffolkfairtrade.org.uk. Felixstowe Fairtrade Forum, alongside the
seven other members of SAFT, is supporting this initiative,
Fairtrade Footballs
Thanks to generous support from the East of England Co-op we
were able to start a programme of donating a Fairtrade Football to each of
Felixstowe’s primary schools. We were presenting
the footballs at a series of assemblies around Fairtrade Fortnight where we also
showed a short video about Fairtrade footballs and how they are made. We hope to complete our programme of football
donations once things return to normal.
Fairtrade Fortnight
Events
Fairtrade Fortnight in Felixstowe was launched on Monday 24th
February by the Mayor of Felixstowe
at Christ Church. There were
refreshments and a Fairtrade stall and the launch was followed by a walk,
organised in co-operation with Felixstowe Walkers.
There was a Family Fun Day at the library from on Saturday 29th
February. There were games and competitions for all
the family, refreshments, a Fairtrade stall, a raffle, a tombola and a
chocolate fountain. The event was a
great success with a good attendance from local school children and their
families.
On Saturday 7th March we rounded off Fairtrade
Fortnight with a coffee morning at St John’s Church from 10am to 12 noon.
Renewal of Fairtrade
Town Status
In July last year we received the news that Felixstowe’s
status as a Fairtrade Town had been renewed for another two years. This was good news as we celebrated 10 years
since Felixstowe became a Fairtrade Town. Renewal of Fairtrade Town status is required
every two years to ensure that towns continue to be actively involved in
promoting Fairtrade and enjoy local support.
The letter we received from the Fairtrade Foundation, confirming the
renewal, was complimentary about the efforts being made in Felixstowe.
Shops and Cafes
Serving Fairtrade
As part of this website we show 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 appeared to be the only cafes in Felixstowe serving the full
range of Fairtrade drinks. Please ask
your favourite café to consider serving Fairtrade – if they do not do so
already.
The Suffolk Association
of Fairtrade Towns (SAFT)
Felixstowe is a member of the Suffolk Association of
Fairtrade Towns, which represents eight active Fairtrade towns across
Suffolk. We hold an annual conference
where we exchange information and usually have a speaker who updates us on an
aspect of Fairtrade. This year’s
conference was to have been held in Beccles in July but had to be cancelled
because of Covid-19 restrictions. However we did hold a successful on line
conference via Zoom on 11 July with presentations by Mike Gidney, the Chief
Executive of the Fairtrade Foundation, and SAFT Patron, Patrick Kaberia. For
more information click on the link in the contacts section of this website
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