Francisco Martinez
From Spain, Francisco is an Organic Agronomist and studied organic agriculture in Spain and the United States. He is an expert in rural development both regionally and internationally.
He is a specialist in food security and child nutrition in developing countries, with experience in Fairtrade, rural economic and agricultural development projects and microcredit management/development with women’s groups and small producers.
He is currently working with Open Food Network UK as part of the EDP project and works with the Open Food Network European Initiative in social farming and social innovation to develop local food chains.
Circles and Projects I'm involved with at the Open Food Network:
Community building Circle, Enterprise Development Programme, Communication Circle
Garethe Hughes
Garethe (per/pers) is based in Derbyshire. Bringing 15 years of IT development experience, with Open Food Network per is the technical lead for the Food Data Collaboration Project, liaising with the Data Food Consortium in France and other technical partners in the UK.
Garethe has 6 years experience of organic veg growing and is setting up a veg-growing Community Support Agriculture project near Matlock. Per is also a member of a small workers coop offering perennial plants, peat-free compost and permaculture education around the Belper area.
Circles and Projects I'm involved with at the Open Food Network:
Food Data Colloboration project, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Project & Stewardship Circle
Bethan Phillips
Bethan (she/her) joined Open Food Network UK in March 2022 to provide software support to UK instance users. She works to help users navigate the platform, investigates technical issues and identifies solutions for product improvement by working with the development team. Her varied background includes social research, data analysis & tech development, permaculture and community food projects.
She is passionate about the role of technology in providing scalable and efficient solutions to the challenges facing food systems in the UK, particularly in allowing sustainable food producers to focus more on producing than admin. As a queer neurodivergent woman, she is also a huge advocate for the role of nature in supporting mental health.
Bethan lives in South Wales and when not enjoying the Welsh countryside can be found at her local community garden, foraging and bouldering.
Circles and Projects I'm involved with at the OFN:
Support Circle & Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Project.
Contact me if you need any help and support with the open food network platform
Global Gardens Project is a community growing project based in Cardiff.
My instagram: Foraging, community growing and sustainable food.
Aaron Hirtenstein
Aaron joined OFN UK in April 2022 as the Finance and Admin lead. He spent the 2010s in a tech worker cooperative, working as a developer then project manager and helping in all areas of the business such as finance, people, business development and account management.
Recently, he has trained as a Cooperative Development Advisor and outside of OFN UK he provides business support and organisational development (mainly related to Sociocracy) to third sector organisations.
Circles and Projects I'm involved with at the OFN:
People & Finance Circle, Community Building Circle
Outlandish: A service to build Openness, Understanding and Trust for purpose-driven teams
CoTech is a network of ethical co-operatives providing technology, digital and creative services.
LocalGov Drupal is a publicly owned asset that delivers a better digital experience for citizens, improves service outcomes, and saves money.
Sophie Paterson
Sophie joined the Open Food Network UK team in the autumn of 2021 as a coordinator for the Food Data Collaboration, a two-year project funded by The National Lottery Community Fund which aims to build data interoperability for sustainable food systems.
With experience of project management, communications and facilitation across a variety of settings, outside of work Sophie enjoys music making and planning towards a future straw-bale self-build project in Devon.
Circles and Projects I'm involved with at the Open Food Network:
Food Data Collaboration Project, Stewardship Circle
Djenai Delerue
Djenai (she/her) has been part of the Communications team since December 2021. She has recently graduated from SOAS with an MSc in International politics (2021), an MA in Modern and Contemporary Asian Art (2019), and BA in Art History (2018).
She has experience planning events for the Open Food Network. She also has experience working in the art world and more recently, during her MSc, delved more into the Food Security question as part of her dissertation.
She is interested in working towards creating change in the food system through research and hands-on work.
Circles and Projects I'm involved with at the Open Food Network:
Communication Circle, DIVIN FOOD Project, Resiliant Green Spaces Project, Stewardship Circle & DEI Project (Diversity, Equity & Inculsion)
Exhibition I curated in 2019
My Instagram
Celebrating the seasonal cycles: between autumn and winter
Jo da Silva
Jo (she/her) has been a member of the Open Food Network UK team since April 2020, when the first Covid lockdown increased Open Food Network UK sales by 800% and she joined as a volunteer.
As part of the UK instance, she helps new enterprises set up on the platform and is leading the Resilient Green Spaces project; a £1.27m partnership project piloting alternative and re-localised food systems in Wales.
Jo lives on the south coast of England with her partner and two children.
Circles and Projects I'm involved with at the Open Food Network:
Resilient Green Spaces Project, Community Building Circle & Support Circle
Nick Weir
Nick (he/him) was a founder of Stroudco Food Hub and Stroud Community Agriculture. He then helped to start Open Food Network UK. With a background in IT account management, Nick now works with community food enterprises to help them build resilient, thriving local food systems that are fair for the local producers whilst nourishing the community they serve.
Nick is a straight cis male who is passionate about the role of innovative food systems in creating a kinder, more interconnected society. Nick is increasingly focused on Open Food Network's role in modelling a new way of working which empowers people to bring more of themselves to their work.
Circles and Projects Nick's involved with at the Open Food Network:
Community Building Circle, People & Finance Circle and the Stewardship Circle in the Open Food Network UK. Nick is also active within the Open Food Network global community.
Helping communities build resilience and sustainability
Stroud Community Agriculture
Feeding our Community, Farming for the Future
An open Community Supported Agriculture project
Meet The Team
People are at the heart of the Open Food Network
Designed for community food enterprises, owned by the commons and improving shopper access to fairer food, the Open Food Network is people led and people driven.
Click on the icons below to meet members of our core Co-ordination Team:
We’re a Sociocratic Co-op
During the summer of 2022, we adopted a new “Sociocratic” structure and ways of working. Sociocracy is a non-hierarchical governance system that places inclusivity, autonomy, transparency and equality at its heart.
Our aim was to adopt a way of working which is in-line with our organisational values. We were looking for real sharing of power and responsibility, more voices being heard, and the flexibility to grow sustainably.
In essence, Sociocracy is a way of distributing the power, or decision making, to smaller groups who are doing the work e.g. marketing or support. These groups are known as “circles”. Each circle has a clear aim and domain (set of responsibilities), membership and meeting rhythm.
The circles of the Open Food Network
Coordination Circle
Is an umbrella circle for all members of the OFN UK team to come together on a weekly basis to check-in, share current operations, discuss challenges and bring specific proposals to the team for decision-making.
Community Building Circle
Aims to grow the OFN UK outwards building our network and generating revenue.
Communications Circle
Communicates the OFN UK’s work through online and traditional marketing methods and strategises communications methods. Also runs events and operates as a marketing consultancy for food hubs, internal projects and compatible external projects.
Support Circle
Supports new and existing customers to use the OFN platform using a mix of email, video and telephone guidance, as well as maintaining the user guide, notifying users of software updates, and developing integrations to streamline customer processes.
Stewardship Circle
Aims to develop the culture and the long term viability of the Open Food Network UK. Also liases with OFN Global and the UK Board to bring a clear governance overview .
People & Finance Circle
Fosters a supportive, kind and joyful environment for the OFN UK team and a healthy understanding of the finances.
Projects Delivery Circle
Is an umbrella circle for those involved in specific projects to come together to discuss challenges and best practice as and when necessary.
Our October 2022 in-person team gathering
In October 2022 we met together at The Goytree Glamping and Treehouses. Being a completely remote team this was an amazing chance for us to meet in person to collaborate, get energised and be inspired about the future direction of the Open Food Network and what we can do as a team to help address some of the systemic issues we are facing in the UK food system.
"I enjoyed us feeling into the constellation that was there & everyone was so open about bringing their full self to the group"
"The Samhain celebration was brill and I loved being outside and around the fire"
"I love being together and seeing more of the real people who make up our wonderful team"
"A really strong sense of community and family. So brilliant to see everyone's full authentic selves and share our passion for improving food systems"
"My favourite bit was the dinners. Being together and letting go, finding out who we are together and discovering new things about the Open Food Network through its people"
"It feels really crazy to me to be unconditionally accepted and supported by a work family and I really value every single person I work alongside"
"I enjoyed us feeling into the constellation that was there & everyone was so open about bringing their full self to the group"
"The Samhain celebration was brill and I loved being outside and around the fire"
"I love being together and seeing more of the real people who make up our wonderful team"
"A really strong sense of community and family. So brilliant to see everyone's full authentic selves and share our passion for improving food systems"
"My favourite bit was the dinners. Being together and letting go, finding out who we are together and discovering new things about the Open Food Network through its people"
"It feels really crazy to me to be unconditionally accepted and supported by a work family and I really value every single person I work alongside"
The Open Food Network UK: In our words
The Open Food Network is a community and software backbone for food systems across the UK working for food sovereignty. Our network of community-driven food enterprises put people and planet first.
“We have long known that local food makes sense from an environmental point of view, but the global pandemic has also made us acutely aware of how vulnerable our global food supply chains are. So it is really wonderful to have the Open Food Network cutting out the middleman and connecting us up with local producers. This gives us resilience and also connects us to the source of the food we need to live and flourish.
I’ve also sat on the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee for five years, and seen how the global food and farming system is dominated by agribusiness and supermarkets. This has led to food waste, food poverty, and a bad deal for farmers as well as some spectacular food scandals. When it comes to good high-quality food with strong links between farmers and eaters, local is always best!”
~ Molly Scott Cato, former Green MEP
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