Stanley food market supports local market traders with business mentoring programme
As part of the bi-monthly Stanley Street Food Market, sponsored by Karbon Homes, traders have been given the opportunity to test and grow their offer in a real market environment, receiving tailored support and guidance along the way from food market specialists, Baccanalia.
Victoria Keen, Head of Place Partnerships and Engagement at Karbon Homes, said: “Running the mentorship programme, alongside the markets, has enabled us to offer a real breadth of support to local businesses. The programme has been designed to help small market trading entrepreneurs build confidence, develop their skills, and create sustainable opportunities for long-term growth.”
One of the businesses to have benefitted from the events and business mentoring is Nourish Food School, who have held live cookery demonstrations at the market and developed recipe kits for customers to help them cook nutritious recipes at home.
Nourish Food School successfully applied for funding from Karbon Homes’ Community Investment Fund, part of the Karbon Foundation, to turn recipes suggested by local residents into professionally designed recipe cards and short tutorial videos. It also enabled Nourish Food School to purchase equipment to help them continue to run demonstrations and engage with communities.
Building on their success at the Stanley Food markets, they will now be holding ongoing tasting and kit giveaway sessions outside PACT House in Stanley each month.
Joanna Lacey, Founder and Managing Director of Nourish Food School, said: "Attending Stanley Market has been a fantastic opportunity to test our new recipe kits directly with the local community.
“The positive response — with people coming back to us after having previously used a recipe kit — has helped us recognise a desire and demand for the kits and has led us to launch a new project celebrating the community’s own recipes.
“The support from Baccanalia and paired with the funding from Karbon Homes has been instrumental in helping us test and grow our product concept and expand our reach in Stanley, which we are very excited about."
The next Stanley street food market will take place on Friday 9 October, from 3.00 - 7.30pm, when a host of local traders will come together on Stanley Front Street offering a mix of tasty cuisine and street entertainment.
October’s market will be the last in the series of food markets this year, which have been running bi-monthly in Stanley since April 2025 and have seen 68 traders take part.
The markets have been embraced by local residents, attracting over 14,000 visitors and driving footfall back to the town’s high street.
Thomas Wales, Managing Director of Baccanalia added: “We have thoroughly enjoyed hosting these events in Stanley, celebrating what the town has to offer. The feedback from residents has been wonderful and we’re really looking forward to this last event and celebrating what has been achieved.”
As well as an exciting array of food stalls, Friday’s event will see entertainment from artist, Paul Slattery, who will be doing free caricature drawings of visitors; along with giant bubble shows, balloon modelling and face-painting.
There will also be a Flash Mob organised by community arts company, The Forge, which will bring together local dancers from The D Project, and North Durham Academy.
Picture Caption: Joanna Lacey, Founder and Managing Director of Nourish Food School; with Emma Donaldson, Place Partnership Officer at Karbon Homes; Victoria Keen, Head of Place Partnerships and
Engagement at Karbon Homes, Rita Assan from DenRit Foods, who was also on the mentorship programme; and team members from Baccanalia.
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