Four Greens Community Trust

What Four Greens Community Trust does

Four Greens Community Trust CIC is a private Community Interest Company founded in 2016 that operates the Whitleigh Community Hub in North Plymouth, UK, delivering a wraparound portfolio of free wellbeing services to individuals and families experiencing poverty, social isolation, and health inequality. Its core offerings include a social supermarket, food bank, emergency food parcels, social prescribing, befriending, timebanking, family and youth services, the Empower Programme, and the Community Builders Programme (covering at least 13 neighborhood and demographic segments such as Men's, LGBTQIA+, Older Persons, Mental Health & Disability, and Ethnically Diverse communities). The organisation is operationally non-technological — there is no proprietary platform, app, or AI component; service delivery is human-led via a physical hub, neighborhood outreach workers, and a small named team led by Strategic Business Manager Mark Rowles.

The business model is charitable rather than commercial: services are provided free of charge and the organisation is funded through individual donations (one-off and recurring options such as £10 one-off or £1/week for ten weeks), grants (notably the National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund for the PL5 Pathways project and DEFRA funding for COVID-19 food response), and institutional support from NHS Devon and Plymouth City Council. PL5 Pathways operates as a wholly owned programmatic subsidiary funded by National Lottery, while the Plymouth Food Security Collective is a jointly controlled CIC extending food-security work city-wide alongside FareShare and Trussell Trust. Distribution is community-led: walk-in support at the Whitleigh Hub, Community Builder and Pathway Champion outreach across Plymouth neighborhoods, plus marketing through Facebook, website blog, email newsletter, and partner referrals. The organisation is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2026 with a '10 for 10' fundraising campaign and is governed by a Board of Directors under CIC asset-lock rules that reinvest surplus into community benefit rather than distribute to shareholders.

Name

Four Greens Community Trust

Legal name

Four Greens Community Trust CIC

Website

https://fourgreenscommunitytrust.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Four Greens Community Trust CIC is a Plymouth-based charitable Community Interest Company operating the Whitleigh Community Hub and outreach network, delivering free food, wellbeing, and community development services to vulnerable individuals and families across North Plymouth neighborhoods, funded by donations and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Social Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Community Food Services (624210), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Community wellbeing services
• Food poverty support
• Social prescribing
• Community development
• Wellbeing programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Plymouth

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: The organization accepts one-off and recurring donations from individuals. Options include one-off £10 donations, £1 per week for ten weeks, or custom amounts. Donations fund specific services including room hire for community groups, emergency food parcels, mental health support sessions, community activities, social supermarket operations, and community cafes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Four Greens Community Trust is a Community Interest Company (CIC) operating a multi-service community wellbeing hub in North Plymouth, England. It delivers free or low-cost services to vulnerable individuals and families including a social supermarket, food bank, emergency food parcels, community activities, social prescribing, befriending, family and youth services, timebanking, and community development through its Community Builders Programme and the National Lottery-funded PL5 Pathways project.

Product overview

Four Greens Community Trust is a Community Interest Company (CIC) operating as a multi-service community hub in North Plymouth, England. The organization offers a unified portfolio of wellbeing and support services centered around its core Whitleigh Community Hub, supplemented by satellite locations and outreach programs. The service architecture combines direct service delivery (food bank, social supermarket, emergency food parcels), social support programs (befriending, timebanking, social prescribing), community development (Community Builders Programme, PL5 Pathways), and facility rentals. Key offerings include the Social Supermarket for affordable food access, Community Builders Programme with specialized support for demographics including men's groups, LGBTQIA+, older persons, and mental health/disability, the National Lottery-funded PL5 Pathways project for training and volunteering pathways, and seasonal initiatives like the Christmas Appeal. The Plymouth Food Security Collective represents a separate CIC focused on city-wide food resilience. Services are provided free or at low cost to vulnerable individuals and families in Plymouth's most deprived areas, operating in partnership with NHS Devon, Plymouth City Council, and other voluntary sector organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PL5 Pathways: A project creating meaningful, sustainable access to volunteering, up-skilling, and training pathways in Ernesettle, Honicknowle, and Whitleigh areas north of the A38 in Plymouth.
• Plymouth Food Security Collective

Products and services

• Whitleigh Community Hub
• Social Supermarket
• Food Bank
• Emergency Food Parcels
• Community Activities
• Social Prescribing
• Family & Youth Services
• Befriending Service
• Timebanking
• Empower Programme
• Community Builders Programme
• PL5 Pathways
• Christmas Appeal
• Advice & Information Service
• Room/Facility Rentals

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports 100+ families weekly with food parcels

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting, developing and minor.

• FareSharecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner included in Plymouth Food Security Collective initiative to improve food supply to emergency food providers, food resilience programmes, and food education initiatives.
• Trussell TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner included in Plymouth Food Security Collective initiative working with voluntary and community food sector to improve food supply and reduce hunger.
• St Matthias ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020St Matthias Church is a lead partner on the DEFRA-funded COVID-19 emergency response scheme. FGCT and partners committed to supplying food parcels to families most in need. Mark Rowles, Strategic Business Manager, stated the organizations are looking at future projects together.
• Whitliegh Big LocalsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Acknowledged as a supporting partner in the COVID-19 emergency response scheme for food parcel distribution.
• St Chads ChurchsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Acknowledged as a supporting partner in food parcel distribution efforts.
• Salvation ArmysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Acknowledged as a supporting partner in the COVID-19 emergency response scheme. FGCT also acknowledges Salvation Army Debt Advice as a useful contact resource.
• Honicknowle CommnetdevelopingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020FGCT is forming a partnership with Honicknowle Commnet to support growing issues with food poverty and families in Honicknowle. Both organizations are excited about potential future partnership work.
• Brambles Pet Food BanksupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020FGCT supports Brambles Pet Food Bank as a donation and distribution point at their Whitleigh hub. The partnership enables pet food to be included with food parcels for families with pets.
• MorrisonsminorOthers · 1 January 2020Morrisons made a kind donation of 18 food parcels that enabled FGCT to provide extra support to families in need with children during half-term.
• NHS DevoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHS Devon is listed as a key supporter of Four Greens Community Trust. The partnership provides healthcare integration and referral pathways for community wellbeing services.
• Plymouth City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlymouth City Council is listed as a supporter of Four Greens Community Trust. The council works with the organization on food resilience initiatives and community development programs.
• Whitleigh Community TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrusted partner in the PL5 Pathways Project, working with FGCT to integrate mental health support, crafts, social activities, and volunteering into community work.
• Barnardo's Family HubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrusted partner in the PL5 Pathways Project, providing wraparound approach including mental health support, crafts, social activities, and volunteering integration.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Honicknowle Commnet: Local community partner organization supporting Honicknowle residents facing food poverty. Comparable as a small grassroots CIC providing neighborhood-level social support and food distribution in the same North Plymouth geography.
• Plymouth Food Security Collective: Adjacent CIC initiative led by FGCT covering Plymouth-wide food supply coordination. Directly comparable as a sister organization addressing the same food resilience mission but at a city-wide scope rather than neighborhood level.
• Whitleigh Community Trust: Trusted PL5 Pathways partner working with FGCT to integrate mental health, crafts, social activities, and volunteering in Whitleigh. Highly comparable as a hyper-local community organization in the same neighborhood with overlapping wellbeing services.
• Trussell Trust: The UK's largest food bank network and a stated partner in FGCT's Plymouth Food Security Collective work. Directly comparable as a national coordinator of emergency food parcels and food poverty advocacy targeting the same beneficiary populations.
• St Matthias Church Plymouth: Lead partner on the DEFRA-funded COVID-19 emergency food response alongside FGCT. Comparable as a faith-rooted community organization providing food parcel distribution to vulnerable families in Plymouth.
• FareShare: UK food redistribution charity and Plymouth Food Security Collective partner. Comparable as a wholesale-style supplier to community food programmes, sitting one tier upstream of FGCT's social supermarket and food bank operations.

Broad incumbents

• Locality: UK membership body for community-led organizations and social prescribing infrastructure. Comparable as a support network and advocate for CICs running neighborhood-level community services, including social prescribing models like FGCT's.
• Barnardo's: Large UK children's charity and PL5 Pathways partner providing wraparound family and youth support. Comparable in family/youth services and social prescribing overlap, though operating at significantly greater national scale.
• Salvation Army: National faith-based charity providing community support including food assistance and debt advice, and a partner of FGCT's COVID-19 emergency response. Overlaps in food poverty and community wellbeing but operates at much larger national scale.
• Citizens Advice: National advice and information charity. Overlaps with FGCT's Advice & Information service on benefits guidance, debt referral, and hardship navigation, but operates at vastly greater national scale with paid advisers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/fourgreenscommunitytrust
• Instagraminstagram.com/fourgreenscommunitytrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/four-greens-community-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Four Greens Community Trust