http://www.pledgebank.com/VFMBristol Comments on 'support the development of a Virtual Farmers Market for Bristol if it is selected as a finalist in the Nesta Big Green Challenge' en-gb team@pledgebank.com hourly 2 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://www.pledgebank.com/VFMBristol#comment_2631400 Dear VFM supporters We are sorry to report that Bristol’s Virtual Farmers Market bid to NESTA has not made it through to the next round. NESTA’s specific feedback says, “We are sorry not to have been able to invite you to pitch to the Big Green Challenge Judges. The overall quality of detailed plans was high, and all of the ideas worthwhile, so our decision was not an easy one. We wanted to provide some specific feedback on your idea. Our Reviewers thought this project has great potential and could be a model for other cities and therefore of great significance in the longer term. They praised your ambition to create a step change in the attitudes and approaches of a whole town towards food. Our Reviewers suggest further planning and partnership development would be useful before running the project. The Reviewers also highlighted the large jump between 25 households and 400,000+ people and suggested that you to consider a slightly larger pilot in order to test viability. We hope that you will continue to develop and act on your ideas, and we wish you every success with this.” In al honesty, the core team (Matt, Kevin and I) were not fully happy with the quality of the final submission so the judges’ decision is not a surprise. On the positive side, we still believe that the VFM idea is strong and that Overlay Media’s location-aware mobile solution is very innovative. Clare Milne, the Bristol Food Links Development Worker is keen to incorporate the VFM into future Bristol bids, including to the lottery, so our efforts will not be wasted. Thanks for your support. Stephen