What is YPFF?
Young People in Food and Farming (YPFF) is an informal networking group that brings together young professionals working in the food and farming sectors. We host relaxed events across Stamford and the surrounding areas to help young people connect, share ideas, and build lasting personal and professional relationships.
Who Can Attend?
Anyone under the age of 35 working in the food and farming industry. The group is open to anyone working or living in the Stamford area. Whether you spend one day a week in a local office, or live nearby - everyone is welcome!
What’s the Cost?
Our events are completely free to attend. There’s no hidden agenda — we just want to provide a welcoming, light-hearted environment for young professionals.
Why Was YPFF Created?
Through our work with candidates in the industry, we noticed many young professionals living locally were often not surrounded by peers their own age in the workplace. YPFF was created to change that.
Networking events can sometimes feel intimidating or overwhelming. Our goal is to create a more casual, enjoyable space where people in similar situations can meet, talk, and feel part of a wider community.
How Does It Help
Speaking from personal experience, I moved to the area for a job and didn’t know many people. Attending a YPFF event early on introduced me to others in the same boat. Some were familiar faces, others were complete strangers - but all were professionals in food and farming.
Since then, many of those people have become friends and key industry contacts. We meet for coffee, bump into each other at conferences, and continue to support one another.
YPFF events are a great way to:
Meet others in similar roles (or discover roles you didn’t even know existed!)
Build your network in the local industry
Network with professionals & turn connections into real friendships
What Kind of Events Do You Run?
We like to keep things varied and informal. Recent events include:
A Tapas Night at our office
Wine Tasting hosted by Adnams
A “Bingo & Buffet” get-to-know evening
A talk and presentation from Andrew Fitzmaurice, our CEO
Cocktail making
Quiz nights
What Impact Are You Hoping to Make?
We know how daunting it can be to move to a new place, especially when starting a career. We want YPFF to help ease that transition by creating real, lasting connections. One of the most rewarding aspects has been seeing familiar faces return to events and build relationships over time.
How Do You Choose Speakers, Themes, or Venues?
We’re always open to suggestions and strive to keep each event fresh and engaging. Some are hosted in our office, while others take place across Stamford and the surrounding areas. The focus is always on informality and approachability. Looking forward, we’re keen to bring in people from our wider network to host talks and Q&As. We’re also in talks with wider local businesses to see if we can organise something with them.
How Do You Keep Events Relevant?
We ask for feedback before and after each event via short polls and questionnaires. This helps us tailor events to what attendees really want and keeps the events engaging for both new and returning guests.
A Rewarding Moment as the Organiser
At one of our recent events, I’d recently placed a candidate into her very first role in the industry. She decided to come along, and by chance, a colleague from a different department at the same company was also there. Not just this, another attendee was on their MDS secondment and due to join the same business in a couple of months' time!
It was brilliant to see three young professionals from the same company, all at different stages in their careers, connecting at one of our events. They were able to share their experiences, learn more about each other’s roles, and give the rest of us a better insight into their organisation.
How Can I Get Involved?
To register your interest and hear about our next event, sign up here: https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/58OI-G81/ypffwhatsappsignup
You can contact me, Hannah Cuthbert, at any time for questions, queries or just a general chat about YPFF!
📩 hannah.cuthbert@morepeople.co.uk
📞 01780 480 530
