What's the story?
We are two Claires on a mission to build a better food system for Gloucester through our organisations We are Project Grow CIC and Wiggly Charity.
Having both transitioned from jobs in the corporate world, we are united in our drive to empower and upskill vulnerable, marginalised and disabled people of all ages and abilities to learn to grow and cook good food for themselves.
Our vision is to secure the sustainability of our growing projects and cookery classes by cooking up a delicious range of handmade seasonal sauces and preserves, with all profits feeding back into our social impact work.
Why Social Source?
At the start of 2024, our organisations teamed up in a project called Grow with Wiggly. Our aim was to grow a whopping 50% of the vegetables used in Wiggly’s Gloucester cookery courses at the Gloucestershire Heritage Hub community garden in Kingsholm.
As Grow with Wiggly flourished, our weekly harvest from the Heritage Hub enabled the Wiggly participants to learn how to prepare and cook seasonal vegetables - fresh!
But we quickly realised our Grow with Wiggly project also offered the potential to serve up a double helping of social impact. We found we were offering a full circle opportunity for people to volunteer at the gardens and kitchens, learning new skills to set them on a path to independence and employability. We were cooking on gas! Meet Ben for example:-
However, both our organisations rely heavily on limited grant funding and it quickly became apparent that we were competing against one another and other local partners for funding to deliver our social impact mission. So we decided to spice things up and work together to develop a sustainable independent income stream, based on the Grow with Wiggly model.
Introducing Social Source
Social as in social enterprise, for good,
Source as in locally sourced people and produce (and it doesn't hurt that it sounds like Sauce!).
And so the seed of our idea was planted.
What's Social Source?
Every jar of Social Source serves up real social change with all profits feeding into We are Project Grow CIC and Wiggly Charity to allow us to run our growing projects and cookery classes to empower and upskill vulnerable people of all ages and abilities.
For starters, we have created a very special Bishop of Gloucester's Mulberry Dessert Sauce. Made from mulberries picked by the Project Grow and Wiggly teams from the Bishop's own garden, we have created a limited batch of this beautifully rich dessert sauce. It's just perfect for pepping up your porridge and pancakes, pouring over ice cream or waffles or stirring into baking for delicious mulberry muffins or cheesecake.
Next up is a serving of our second delicious product, developed using chemical-free ingredients grown by volunteers at the Heritage Hub and made at the Wiggly Charity kitchens on Westgate Street. A seasonal Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce, this is the perfect solution for a quick, easy and nutritious meal with the fresh flavours of our Gloucester grown vine-ripened tomatoes packed into every spoonful. Watch out for seasonal variations coming soon, incorporating freshly picked chillis and home-dried herbs for a tasty twist on this original Social Source base.
From soil to jar, we take an inclusive approach to creating our products, providing volunteering opportunities in the gardens and the kitchens to support development of employability skills amongst the Social Source support team.
All our products are handmade in small batches by our Wiggly Charity Chef Ryan, supported by our Kitchen Assistant Tom and other volunteers. We only use simple seasonal ingredients, with no additives or preservatives. All the fruit and vegetables used in our products is grown and harvested in Gloucester by our fabulous Social Source volunteers.
We take a zero waste approach, composting any peelings to power future growth. We operate on extremely low food miles with just 0.4 miles (or 8 minutes' walk!) between growing space and kitchen.
Who are the two organisations behind Social Source?
We are Project Grow CIC is a social enterprise and partner of the RHS Schools and Communities campaign for 2024. We are working to prove the case for a more sustainable community food system growing chemical free plants and produce with low food miles (less than 0.5 miles from garden to kitchen) and all with zero packaging and waste.
Wiggly Charity has been running in Gloucestershire since 2007 with a mission to empower people of all ages and abilities through food. Wiggly delivers cookery courses and workshops with social impact. Operating from kitchens in Gloucester and across the community, Wiggly courses help grow confidence, self-esteem and independence in the kitchen. We empower vulnerable, marginalised and disabled people of all ages and abilities to make budget-friendly, healthy meals for themselves.
Where’s the Crowdfunder money going?
We will use the funds to feed into our first bulk production run of Social Source, to develop a range of products and create a larger quantity to sell across independent Gloucestershire retail outlets and online.
With the Crowdfunder orders fulfilled, our supporters will be invited to participate in our product development program through a series of feedback surveys and questionnaires. As a supporter, your input will help to shape the development of Social Source after this campaign finishes.
How can you help us with our Crowdfunder.
1. Pledge money. Support us in return for a variety of #socialsource rewards. You will see them on this page and they're our way of saying thank you for your support.
2. Spread the word. We need to reach as many people as possible and tell them about this fantastic community project so share the page on your social media pages and don't forget to tag us at @socialsourcehq
3. Fundraise for us. You can create a simple fundraiser from this page in a matter of minutes. You don't need any bank details – just a good idea to raise some funds on our behalf.
4. Help with rewards? If you are a local business who would like to stock our product and raise your profile in the community reach out!
Thank you so much for your support!
Claire + Claire!