Our story
Open Kitchen is redefining sustainable, ethical catering in Greater Manchester. It is a not-for-profit social enterprise, which means that our catering operation works on a pay-it-forward basis. Income generated subsidises our work supporting local communities struggling with food insecurity.
We regularly deliver food and supplies to independent food banks, temporary accommodation, and food pantry projects. We support projects that offer dignity, choice and community resilience. In our more strategic work, we support the mission of organisations who seek to end the need for emergency food provision by helping people to get out of poverty in real and lasting ways. We look forward to a future where food banks are no longer needed, and food waste doesn't happen.
We craft incredible food using ingredients from local, ethical, independent producers. We also work with a huge range of food businesses to intercept perfectly edible food that will otherwise go to waste. For every tonne of food that we stop from going to waste, we stop 4.2 tonnes of CO2e from being emitted, so we are actively helping to lower Greater Manchester’s carbon footprint.
At Open Kitchen we also offer a range of talks, lunch & learn events, workshops, team building activities, and sustainable foodie fun. These services help champion our social mission to promote ethical and sustainable food and living, provide information and practical tips on more sustainable food choices, and offer opportunities to have fun while supporting a great cause.
Our advice
- Food waste and food poverty are two separate issues that need solving. Surplus food is not food that is going off or food that is low quality – it is just excess food that if not used, will go to waste. Our message is very much that anyone and everyone should be trying to prevent food waste and we are proving that it is possible to produce delicious, fresh, high-quality meals using ingredient that would otherwise be thrown away.
- A social enterprise is still a business, and needs to be run as such. Whilst our profits are poured back into projects supporting the local community, we do still need to operate in a way that enables us to provide a high-quality service and to pay our skilled staff a fair wage.
Our metrics
- Working with our amazing partners at Positive Planet, Open Kitchen is proud to be one of the very few independent catering operations to have completed a full carbon lifecycle assessment of our business, and a plan to net zero.
- Open Kitchen aims to reach net zero by 2040. We have made the decision that we will not engage in any carbon offsetting activity for the foreseeable future, and will instead put all of our focus into operating and procuring in ways that genuinely reduce our environmental impact.
- Beyond the carbon maths, we are committed to sourcing our ingredients in a way that is not only good for the planet, but good for communities, and economically fair and inclusive for the farmers and workers who produce our food.
