The Centre for Food and Fresh Produce Logistics (CFFPL) was a short term programme supported by the Boston Town Deal to provide business, innovation and skills support to the Boston business community, primarily focusing on those businesses in the food chain or which supply services to the food sector.

Cockles being landed in Boston 

The programme was very successful and demonstrated how locally delivered business support using industry experts, can make a real difference to businesses of all sizes.  In total the project supported over 100 businesses, from start ups and micros to larger businesses in the Boston agrifood community. 

The programme included business and innovation support, skills development, promotion of careers in the agrifood sector and logistics and small grants.  With a budget of just under £2m from the Town Deal, the programme levered a further £1.6m from the public sector, £0.5m from business match funding of small grants, and £3.6m from larger investments made by industry beneficiaries based on the innovation and business support they received.  In total this totals over £7.7m has been invested in Boston as a result of the programme. 

The training programme reached over 400 learners who gained additional qualifications and a further 400 industry members attended a series of masterclasses focused on business skills.  The careers target of reaching 300 local people was exceeded 6-fold, with over 2,000 local people learning about the careers in the agrifood and logistics sector, and a further 5,000 attending a food festival held in the iconic Boston Stump. 

Led by the National Centre for Food Manufacturing (NCFM) and Boston College, the programme also drew on specialist help from Seafox and the UK Seafood Federation team, to help support the fishing community in Boston.  This helped the programme engage with the Boston fishing fleet to look at a range of investments and future collaborative opportunities to support one of Boston’s oldest industries.  Support for the fishing fleet also included hosting a visit by DEFRA to discuss the future of the cockle industry and the opportunity for members of the fishing community to attend a major seafood trade show in Norway alongside the UK Seafood Federation and NCFM team. 

Fresh produce businesses learning about Virtual Reality headsets 

Major themes supported across the programme included the adoption of new technologies including digital, AI and automation as well as the transition to more sustainable production by facilitating the use of renewable energy, adopting EVs and reducing waste. 

NCFM and Boston College have developed new services and made new connections in industry with the aim of creating a strong legacy for the programme, with follow on projects now being developed with industry partners.