B&Q Handforth

Our aims and values in this project are; Reducing the amount of food that goes to waste Around 15 million tonnes of food is wasted every year in the UK alone, and the vast majority of that food is perfectly edible. The lowest carbon, most sustainable thing we can do with food that is going to go to waste is put it in a belly, any belly, rather than a bin, any bin (landfill, anaerobic digestion, animal feed, or compost). For every tonne of food that we save from going to waste, we save around 4.2 tonnes of CO2e from being emitted, and around 10% of the UK’s carbon footprint comes from food that is produced but never eaten. Providing access to enough food and great food for all Open Kitchen MCR is, among many other things, a live experiment in alternative economic models. The project operated for 3 years on a pay-as-you-feel basis, inviting members of the public to decide how much they would pay for their meal in a huge range of settings. While this model had huge social and environmental positives, it proved financially unsustainable. Open Kitchen MCR’s catering social enterprise operates on a pay-it-forward basis. The project offers catering at set prices, with one rate for private and corporate customers, a lower rate for established not-for-profit groups, and free or heavily subsidised catering for grassroots groups who are supporting vulnerable adults. Dignity, choice and social inclusion - a positive community future Our pay-as-you-feel model (employed at our city centre restaurant, open from Sep 2017 - Aug 2018) offered an innovative, inclusive model that deliberately bucked the trend towards dedicated “food poverty project” models. There are a number of projects that target people in food poverty, and in our current economic climate they are essential. However, the fact remains that by targeting people in food poverty, we also further separate and isolate them. Open Kitchen MCR aims to develop an alternative model that can evolve along side these projects, and offer a more inclusive option to bring a wider range of people together. Unfortunately, we found it wasn’t possible to support pay-as-you-feel financially, for a range of reasons. Our current outside catering venture operates on a pay-it-forward model, and supports grassroots groups that offer dignity, choice and support to vulnerable adults. We hope to continue our experiment into alternative economic models, and trial a new socially inclusive cafe / restaurant space in 2020.

Bradley Fold Allotments, Ford Lane, Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2RU Bradley Fold Allotments is a society of gardeners dedicated to growing food, preserving the environment, encouraging wildlife and engaging with the local community. We have over 100 active allotment plots gardened by a community of about 200 regular gardeners of all ages who all live in south Manchester. We are a council owned allotment site, and plots are allocated from a waiting list held by Manchester City Council. In 2024 we constructed a Community Access plot with raised beds and level ground suitable for wheelchairs, so that allotment members who can't manage a full plot any more due to illness or disability can continue to garden and enjoy all the benefits of fresh air and home grown produce. We maintain community orchards, fruit bushes and a polytunnel which are cropped for the benefit of local food banks and community kitchens - we donate and deliver these free of charge. We are working with a local school to invite disabled children into a safe space where they can peacefully interact with nature. We do all this with volunteers from local organisations and have received grants from Manchester City Council, Tesco, Didsbury Open Gardens and others which enabled us to build our Community Access Plot. We have regular volunteer groups from local companies and organisations such as Turner & Townsend, Siemens, The Growth Company and the Environment Agency, who come and work on our community areas. We promote an active lifestyle and healthy living choices by encouraging sustainable methods of cultivation and the preservation of wildlife in our site in South Manchester on the banks of the Mersey. We are looking for donations of gardening supplies that will help us build and maintain our community crop areas such as fence posts for dead hedges, flag stones and building sand for safe paths and fruit bushes and trees to populate our planting areas. We can always use donations of timber paint to keep our raised beds in good condition along with brushes and buckets etc. Volunteers are welcome to help us collect crops and take them to food banks and community kitchens.

Piper Hill High School which is a school for 11-19 with severe learning disabilities. The Aim of post-16 is to set our young people up to be as independent as possible when leaving Piper Hill, some of our pupils go on to employment, some go on to have supported volunteering roles and other go on to college for another 5 years. At Post-16 we have a sensory path, gardening poly tunnel, a café and a studio flat set up for pupils to work on a vast range of independent skills. Most of these areas still need lots of development and are still in the early stages of being set up.