The idea
The Magic Hat (MH) collects food that would otherwise be wasted from around the city, and uses it to prepare a high quality daily menu, serving 500+ people per week. The profits fund our volunteer programme, but we now have a shortfall. The funding is needed as we face increased costs due to the cost of living crisis, energy prices, and staff salaries.
We now need some additional funds to support our Volunteer Coordinator and volunteer programme which hosts 120 hours of volunteering per week (30 shifts), and is over subscribed.
We also want to develop and deliver a free workshop programme at the Magic Hat, bringing people into the kitchen and together around food who would not otherwis be able to access this.
The volunteer and workshop programmes work in partnership. We build relationships with community projects via workshops, and support the participants in our Volunteer Programme, developing English language skills, sharing recipes and using our kitchen as a place of belonging.
What we'll deliver
- One food workshop and dinner per fortnight, for a local group/community organisation (minimum of 10 participants)
- Provide an engaging volunteer programme to a group of 100 active volunteers at any one time
- Engage 25 volunteers per month in our Volunteer Working Group
Why it's a great idea
The voluntary programme we have running through all our projects gives an opportunity to not only contribute to bettering food systems, but to connect with new people, gain language or chef/barista skills and build self-confidence. We have shown by enabling volunteers to gain qualifications and experience, they find work and often in the environmental and hospitality sectors. We currently have over 100 regular volunteers who work throughout our projects and represent the richness and diversity of our city.
Our workshop programme has, and will continue to, encourage a feeling of confidence and belonging in Newcastle. It will allow the sharing of food cultures and skills across a dining table or kitchen worktop. It will allow groups who are not able to access 'food joy' due to class, language, confidence, etc. to use food as a tool for connection. Feedback form previous workshops has shown the benefits to individuals' mental health, skills and sense of belonging/achievement.
Steps to get it done
- Design a 6 month workshop program that is accessible.
- Connect with the community groups who already use the space to invite them to a MH workshop.
- Book groups into the workshop program.
- Train staff in the delivery of workshops - high quality, valuable.
- Reach out (market) to groups who we don't already connect with, and book them into workshop slots
- Deliver a volunteer working group monthly
- Induct 10 new volunteers into the program per month
- Provide opportunities to feedback at the 3 and 6 month mark
Bind is a collection of projects and a community of people who believe in practical, positive, permanent change for the UK food waste challenge. Since 2015, Bind UK has contributed to 50 projects, impacting 150,000 people and saving 400 tonnes of food from being wasted.
Why was the CIC founded?
Bind was founded by Duncan Fairbrother and Jess Miller in 2015 who both came from years in the hospitality sector, witnessing first hand the levels of waste that existed from procurement to plate. We have developed a series of projects including Magic Hat, Foodicate.co.uk (a food waste redistribution app) and Eat Smart - a project which enables primary school pupils to learn about the UK's food waste challenge. Through these projects we engage and educate on the topic of food waste in a meaningful, positive and realistic way.
We want to further engage and strengthen our connections and reach to under represented groups, and those who aren't yet part of the environmental conversation.
