manchester foe logo

Mcr’s first waste food catering social enterprise! (Crowdfunder)

The team that brought you Manchester’s first waste food pay-as-you-feel restaurant (Real Junk Food Manchester), is now working to open our city’s first waste food catering social enterprise, and we’re calling it… Open Kitchen MCR.

The aim…. to stop even more food from going to waste, to make even more great meals for anyone and everyone in our city, and to help even more people to gain skills and experience in catering and hospitality!
 

See the Crowdfunder appeal page.

Open Kitchen MCR will offer a range of outside catering services, all using food that would otherwise go to waste, including hot meals, buffets, canapés and much more. The new venture aims to offer professional catering services to corporate and private clients, while working with community and charity partners to continue to offer access to not just enough food, but great food, to everyone who wants or needs it, regardless of income.

The core of the project’s mission remains the same – rescue food that would otherwise go to waste, transform it into beautiful meals and dishes, and support everyone in our city in accessing great food. But that mission is evolving. We’re amazingly proud of having opened and operated Manchester’s first waste food pay-as-you-feel restaurant for a year, and we’re ready to do more!

The new venture will use a different type of economic sharing model. Rather than pay-as-you-feel, which operated at the restaurant, the new venture will offer a range of pricing packages that will mean corporate customers will subsidise our work with community and charity partners. So, companies and individuals who choose our catering service will not only be choosing a sustainable option, they will also be supporting Manchester communities.

Manchester’s first waste food pay-as-you-feel restaurant was open for 50 weeks, and in that time we stopped 34,339 kilos (or just over 34 metric tonnes) of food from going to waste, and served 29,128 meals to people from all walks of life across our city.

What will the money be used for?

We’ve found the space, a currently disused commercial kitchen in South Manchester. As ever with our team we’re stamping out waste, upcycling, making do and mending where ever we can. We’re taking on a disused commercial kitchen and bringing it back into action. The funds raised will be used to;

  • Fix up a large commercial kitchen
  • Replace some pieces of equipment that are beyond repair
  • Buy smaller equipment needed to run a catering business safely
  • Get some education, engagement and marketing materials designed and made

We hope that you will agree that this is something incredibly positive for our city, and we hope we have proven through the Real Junk Food Mcr restaurant that we can make it work!

Help us build the next phase of our waste food venture, and be part of team Open Kitchen MCR.

See the Crowdfunder appeal page.

Find us on

Facebook

Support Us

Donate or join us using a standing order or PayPal.

Twitter @foemcr