Source Smartinsights.com

Bridge Community Farms is set to benefit from a £36,000 donation, thanks to The Greif Packaging Charitable Trust.

Bridge Community Farms is a working farm that brings together people from all parts of the local community. Its main purpose is to offer permanent and sustainable jobs to people who are long-term unemployed, growing and selling organic fruit and vegetables to the local community. 

Graham Duerden, Managing Director of Greif UK Ltd, based in Ellesmere Port and Burton-upon-Trent, presented a cheque to Francis Ball, Chris Maddock and Hazel Manning, Directors of Bridge Community Farms, on behalf of The Greif Packaging Charitable Trust. The donation will enable the farm to purchase and erect half an acre of polytunnels to grow salads and herbs, create five permanent jobs and provide an exciting study facility for children and young people in the area. 

Francis said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to The Greif Packaging Charitable Trust for this very generous donation. Bridge Community Farms would not exist without the support of local businesses and individuals. This donation will allow us to put up our first polytunnels and kick off this valuable community venture. It really will change the lives of some of the most potentially talented people in Ellesmere Port by allowing us to offer them a helping hand.” 

Graham Duerden, MD at Greif Ltd, said: “The Greif Packaging Charitable Trust was set up to help children and young people. Bridge Community Farms provides us with an ideal opportunity to support a local venture that will benefit Ellesmere Port.” 

Bridge Community Farms is set to open later in the year. As well as providing sustainable jobs, it will provide a therapeutic environment for people living with mental health conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The farm will also have study facilities for children and young people who want to learn horticulture, food preparation and basic business skills. All profits will be invested back into the farm.

Source Smartinsights.com

Source Bizrateinsights.com

According to this, during Q1 2014, 7 in 10 Nordic residents purchased items online for a total value of nearly EUR 4.9 billion (SEK 44.2 billion).

"PostNord’s ecommerce-related B2C parcel volumes increased by 15% in the same time frame."

"75% of Norwegians shop online, while Finland records 66% of its consumers purchasing online in Q1 2014. Mailbox delivery is the most popular delivery alternative in all Nordic countries except Finland, where the preference is to pick up goods purchased online at a partner outlet."

"Out of the total EUR 4.9 billion, the report estimates that around EUR 1.1 billion (SEK 10.1 billion) was generated from ecommerce conducted by consumers via sites they consider foreign."

"33% of Nordic-region ecommerce mail items during the period came from foreign countries, according to consumer estimates. When Nordic residents shop online from foreign sites, they prefer sites from the UK."

More info here.