Update from the MeetandVeg team – November 2016
At MeetandVeg we have been working hard behind the scenes and are pleased to announce that individuals wishing to invest in our project will be able to claim Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR). See below for a brief explanation of SITR or for more detailed notes please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389925/investors-guide.pdf
“Individuals making an eligible investment can deduct 30% of the cost of their investment from their income tax liability, either for the tax year in which the investment is made or the previous tax year. The investment must be held for a minimum period of 3 years for the relief to be retained.
If individuals have chargeable gains in that tax year, they can also defer their capital gains tax (CGT) liability if they invest their gain in a qualifying social investment. Tax will instead be payable when the social investment is sold or redeemed. They also pay no CGT on any gain on the investment itself, but they must pay income tax in the normal way on any dividends or interest on the investment.”
We are looking to 2017 for exciting opportunities and will provide an update at our earliest opportunity. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information or if you wish to make an investment.
Best wishes
The MeetandVeg Team
Thanks again
The MeetandVeg team
What are we doing?
We are launching MeetandVeg in Epsom, Surrey. We will create a destination and retail space that is run by and for the community. Our core offering will be seasonal fruit and vegetables addressing a need for easy access to fresh produce in the borough. We are a Social Enterprise and registered as a Community Interest Company (CIC), which means that less of our profits go to shareholders and more of it goes back into the business or to other great local initiatives. Watch a short video about MeetandVeg here.
Why are we creating MeetandVeg?
There are currently no dedicated green grocer shops within approximately a 3 mile radius of our location. Yet shopping habits have changed and we are once again making weekly purchases with the need to ensure that we consume more fresh produce to keep us healthy.
We have a social purpose to help address a number of challenges that our society faces including:
- Creating easy access to fresh, local produce
- Buying surplus produce from residents
- Reducing food waste
- Reducing our carbon footprint
- Creating employment
- Enabling young people to work with us to gain life-skills
- Providing alternative snacks and fruit drinks to tackle the sugar issue and reduce obesity
- Providing breakfast smoothies for the 20% of children that attend school without having eaten
- Mobilising the community to tackle our social challenges together
- Rejuvenating our shopping parades
- Creating a destination for many within our community to meet, share stories, support each other, laugh and contribute
- Creating a sustainable, socially focused business that sets a bar and inspires others
MeetandVeg shop layout design
How are we going to do it?
We are on a journey with lots to learn. In order to bring MeetandVeg to life we are aiming to raise at least £40,000. This will help pay our rent; buy all the equipment we need to make our shop as welcoming and as easy to use as possible; provide decent wages for our employees; and stock the shop with fresh fruit and veg. Any surplus donations from our initial crowd funding efforts will be reinvested into MeetandVeg to provide even better services to the local community and maybe replicate in other areas.
We promise to be open and inclusive, listen, and work hard as we bring MeetandVeg to life. We clearly need funders but we would also value hearing from anyone who wishes to join the journey with us. We will need builders, craftsmen, experienced staff, volunteers, suppliers, local fruit and veg growers, professional services and just about anyone else who wants to get involved and encourage us along the way!
PLEASE INVEST WITH US at crowdfunder.co.uk