Needless to say the Fairtrade Foundation is a household brand in the UK, synonymous with sustainability, and protecting producers across the world, but readers may be less familiar with Fairtrade in Kenilworth.

Kenilworth has been a Fairtrade town since December 2007, when a group of local volunteers, actively campaigned on the Fairtrade issue.

Since then the group of volunteers has been maintaining the Fairtrade status of the town through a variety of promotions and activities, as well as running Fairtrade sales.

To maintain the status of the town, the group must continually seek to expand the number of retailers in the area that stock Fairtrade products, pursue a media campaign to raise Fairtrade issues, as well as forge links with community groups and the Town Council to raise awareness.

The group is keen to enlist as many businesses to stock and serve as many Fairtrade products as possible.

They currently have over thirty businesses in the town which support Fairtrade, including ten catering establishments.

The Kings Table café is one of the longest serving Fairtrade retailers in the country, it sells Fairtrade products alongside the catering business.

Together with their social media campaign, the group has also been talking to local community groups. This included a workshop earlier this year with pupils at Park Hill Junior School, who were encouraged to think about what Fairtrade actually means.

Young members of St John's Church, which was awarded Fairtrade status in December, have also been encouraged to provide Fairtrade snacks for the rest of the congregation. The Town Council also continue to enjoy Fairtrade produce after their meetings.

Community groups and establishments are especially important to the success of spreading the Fairtrade message in Kenilworth, and the volunteers have been particularly successful in recruiting five churches and five primary schools to join the project.

At present the group meets four times a year to discuss how they can develop the hard work done so far.

Going forward the volunteers hope to expand their influence in the town, enlisting more restaurants, and reaching out to the District and County Councils, as well as developing their online profile. You can follow their newly-formed Instagram page by following this link, and click here to like their Facebook page.

The Fairtrade group in Kenilworth is also looking for more volunteers to join their team. They already have the Mayor Cllr Richard Dickson, and Cllr Kate Dickson (2017/18 Mayor) as volunteers, as well as a whole host of members from a variety a different backgrounds, yet they are eager to reach out to people who can offer different experiences to join their group.

If you would like to find out more about how you can get involved, please follow this link to the Kenilworth Fairtrade website for more information.