Target reached!
This would pay the wage for our first apprentice. The apprenticeship scheme will run...
Batches Bread Project - Relaunch Fund
Bristol, Bristol City, United Kingdom
Aim
To tackle food insecurity across Bristol by providing nutritious and affordable sourdough bread.
Who we are
We are Batches Bakery, a community interest company (cic). We believe that everyone should have access to fresh and nutritious food, regardless of their economic situation. We are committed to producing affordable sourdough bread, using organic and locally sourced flour. Based in South Bristol, the project has been running since 2019. During these four years, the project has been volunteer led by a collective of experienced and aspiring bakers.
What we do
We run a bread subscription service baking between 50-70 loaves per week. We sell our loaves at collection points across Bristol at a sliding scale price, between £2.00-£4.50.
We operate using a "pay-it-forward model" meaning many of our customers will pay the top bracket price for their bread, to enable some money to go towards the loaves we donate to community projects.
We partner with existing community projects across Bristol who have identified people experiencing food insecurity and provide them with weekly nutritious and affordable bread. Organisations we have worked with include:
- St Pauls Adventure Playground
- Felix Rd Adventure Playground
- Bristol Hospitality Network
- Heart of BS13 - in collaboration with Harts Bakery as part of the Just Bread Scheme
We also empower members of the community to learn baking skills by welcoming new volunteers to our team, with no previous baking experience and training them to bake to a commercial standard within the project.
(Pic courtesy of Heart of BS13, showing our bread in situ)
What we need money for
We have been running for 4 years now, entirely through the voluntary commitment of our bakers. Unfortunately, in July this year we put the project on hold due to lack of availability with in our team.
This was a sad time for all of us involved in the project as well as those that we supplied with bread. Here were some of the messages received during that time.
Messages from the Batches Bakery Community...
"I'm so sad that you'll be stopping baking and I hope you'll be back in the future! Me and the family really love your bread and think the model is such a great idea" Batches Bread Subscriber
"Not only have you fed my sourdough habit, a bonus for me has been supporting a bakery that works hard to make sure folks of all incomes can get a slice of the action ;). I really hope you can get baking again soon, because Tuesday without fresh warm bread just isn't the same." Batches Bread Subscriber
"Batches Bakery has provided delicious loaves for our community freezer, since July '22. Each week BS13 residence can pick up a sourdough loaf along with their free meals. The loaves are delicious with a super soft texture and crunch to the crust." Heart of Bs13
So after much deliberation we decided that in order to carry on the project consistently we have to take the steps towards creating a paid role for a lead baker. We strongly believe that the project cannot develop in the way we know it deserves to if it continues to be reliant on volunteers. And we need your help to do this!
We are asking for people to support us financially so that we can relaunch the Batches Bread Project and begin baking delicious and affordable bread once again.
The money will go towards:
- Wages £4000: We are committed to paying our future lead baker a fair wage, and this money will subsidise this persons wages for the first 6 months of baking. Within this role, we have included wages to cover admin and marketing costs, focused on growing the business. We are seeking to develop business to business partnerships, working with cafes and restaurants across Bristol, including them in the fight against food insecurity. Securing more bread sales and creating a financially sustainable position within 6 months.
- Building Maintenance costs £1500: Our bakery is situated in an old warehouse unit, and sadly we have a leaky roof! This money would cover the cost of the work needed to fix the roof. As well as some paint so that we can give our space a spruce, ready for the relaunch.
- Website creation £500: Whilst we have taught ourselves to bake delicious bread in the last 4 years, none of the team know how to make websites! Having a website is an essential part of getting our message out to people buying and eating our bread.
- Equipment £2750: Much of our equipment has either seen better days or is too small to allow the business to grow in the way it needs to. We will use this money to replace some of our sad looking proofing baskets and also upgrade to a bigger dough mixer.
Plans for the future
As well as addressing food insecurity within our communities, Batches Bakery is passionate about improving access to the workplace for marginalised groups.
Once Batches Bakery has established itself as a financially sustainable business model, we have plans to focus our mission on increasing access to training and commercial baking skills. Working closely with our existing community partners we will offer a "3 month Bakers Apprenticeship" designed to train new entrant bakers to a high commercial standard. The apprentice will receive in-depth training in all areas of running a bakery; from baking skills and kitchen management to marketing and finance. The apprenticeship will offer a person experiencing barriers to work an opportunity to work in a supportive and progressive work environment.
The rewards
We have a whole host of different rewards lined up for you. Below are some of the highlights.
Video and photos by Lily Watts: https://lilyphotoj.myportfolio.com
This project successfully funded on 1st November 2023