Real Junk Food, a Manchester-based charity which provides nutritious meals for the homeless and low income families, has received £10,000 of matched funding from Santander’s new Changemaker Fund to open the city’s first waste food pay-as-you-feel café.
The Fund, which was launched at the end of last year as part of an innovative collaboration between Santander and a rewards-based crowdfunding platform, is designed to help social enterprises, small charities and community groups deliver projects that improve communities and help disadvantaged people to have confidence in the future.
Real Junk Food’s aim is to stamp out food waste and offer a fairer, more sustainable food system. The project has run a number of pop-up restaurants across Manchester, catered for weddings and cooked meals for those in shelters and hostels. The project works on a pay-as-you-feel basis, offering an optional financial donation, meaning that people from all backgrounds are welcome, regardless of whether or not they have money.
The successful matched funding will enable Real Junk Food to open the waste food pay-as-you-feel café and restaurant. The money will pay for the design and production of a mobile kitchen as well as new furniture for the café. Money spent at the café will be reinvested into all aspects of the project, including skills and support.
Sue Douthwaite, Managing Director of Santander Business Banking, commented: “We are thrilled to be able to support Real Junk Food as they open this very exciting new café and restaurant in Manchester. The scheme addresses the important issue of food waste as well helping many people in need, and we look forward to seeing how the project develops with the benefit of this funding.”
Corin Bell, Director at Real Junk Food, commented: “Through the Changemaker Fund we have been able to finance our transaction into a fully functioning restaurant for people from all walks of life to enjoy. The kitchen equipment bought will help our chefs and enable the project to convert wasted food into more meals, more efficiently.”
The new Changemaker Fund, www.crowdfunder.co.uk/changemaker, is part of Santander’s flagship community programme, The Discovery Project, which aims to inspire people to have confidence in the future through projects that build skills, grow knowledge and support innovation.
By working together with Crowdfunder, Santander aims to enable entrepreneurs and community groups to tackle social challenges and create positive local impact. Eligible projects seeking funding of up to £20,000 and focussed on skills, knowledge and innovation that get the crowd’s backing will receive 50% of their funding requirement from Santander to ensure the enterprise reaches its target.
As well as access to the £200,000 matched funding from Santander, projects will benefit from crowdfunding team specialists with education, enterprise and coaching support to unlock further funds and create lasting impacts in communities across the UK.
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Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 31 December 2016, the bank serves around 14 million active customers with c20,000 employees and operates through 841 branches (which includes 60 university branches) and 67 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.
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About Real Junk Food
Real Junk Food is a community interest company that aims to abolish waste food through a ‘Pay-As You-Feel’ concept, empowering communities and inspiring individuals. The Real Junk Food Project is a collaborative effort between catering professionals and activists to bring about a radical change in our food system. As well as the positive environmental impacts of reducing edible food waste, the project also has clear social benefits through operating a strictly Pay-as-you-feel (PAYF) policy.
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