Square Food Foundation and the CRF

So thank you, Eloise for meeting me. You're welcome. Kathy from the community funding, and please tell me a little bit more about your project because the funding I know has provided you with some opportunities, but maybe not as many as you wanted or needed. And so just please tell me a bit more about it

Yeah, so we, um, obviously it's actually quite a long time ago that we applied for it. So, um, When it's, I think it was September 2022, uh, and so we'd only been in this current building that we're in for just, Under a year I think or just about a year, so it's a new build building, so when we looked at the thing we initially thought there isn't actually anything that, Uh, immediately fits the criteria, because there's not kind of an old building that needs fixing and this and that. But as we were kind of looking through it, and, you know, as a charity, you're always thinking, or like looking for funding opportunities

We started thinking a bit more about the people who use our service and how more and more and more we're working with people who um neurodivergent. SEN needs, things like that and actually the cookery school space hadn't been created as much as we would have liked with those people in mind. So we thought, OK, so what can we kind of retrofitting kind of thinking about that kind of accessibility piece, so that was our kind of big, um, kind of what the project hung on to kind of, yeah, accessibility and supporting

I think it's like supporting the community to be more resilient within within accessibility. So, um, we, uh, I think it was originally, I'm gonna, I'm gonna preface one thing, in between applying and where we are now, I've also had a baby, so I was out for a year of it. So my, so my memory is a bit patchy, so I'm gonna try to, and then the person who originally did it has left

So that's why we're kind of in this little place of trying to kind of finish the project off. So. Um, when we applied, we were looking at what could make the space feel more accessible to our users

Uh, and also what could we add to Square Food to make us as an organisation more resilient that would therefore mean that we could continue to run our service for our end users. So as a charity everything is grant funded, isn't it? But one of the things that we've started, we, um, have added on. In kind of 2023 is we run our own catering company, so we have a separate but kind of legally binding trading company which provides er external catering

And so, uh, and then all the profits from that catering come back into Square Food and that means that we can continue to run our classes and maybe be more or less less reliant on trusts and foundations. So one of the things that would help us be able to do that would be a van. So there's a part of this is this electric van

which actually sits over in our other building. Um, so that would enable us to, um, have more catering clients and one of the things that it has enabled us to do is have a long, have a contract or kind of, actually, it's not a contract, but it's a regular. Um, corporate lunch with a big company called Foot Anste down on the waterfront, and that just that client alone has last year brought in I think 45,000 pounds worth of income into the catering, and then that obviously then means that we can do more work with our students

And because we have the van we can actually go and do these drop offs every single day. So that was massive, so that portion has worked really well from the Community resilience fund, um. And the freezers and the blast freezer that's there means that if there's any food that is left over from our cookery classes we can chill that down really quickly, that can go to catering so we're not having kind of any food waste and we can kind of share them between the companies

So, um, so that's worked really well, and then the piece that we were wanting to. Um, look at to make the kitchen more accessible, um. Is the bit that's kind of evolved a bit over time, so we had a really helpful report from Wessel and they kind of came in and er talked to us about, um, making sure that er we've got hobs that are the right height, so actually in the in the kitchen there's a height adjustable hob, so for people in wheelchairs, that means that they can come in and we can have, they can have the same experience, do you know what I mean, you're always trying to make it so that it doesn't feel like, If someone has an additional need or an accessibility issue that they're kind of just sitting over there, you know, can we, how can we create it so it's kind of a similar experience as much as possible

Um, one of the recommendations was to, uh, install a kind of, uh, external sheltered area in our little garden, uh, which would give people a bit of a kind of breakout space if it was if any classes were feeling a bit overwhelming. And that's the bit that we've really got stuck on, uh, and have had to kind of make some changes because the recommendation was a sheltered kind of all, um, all weathers kind of pod, but there was also wheelchair accessible and, We can't. It doesn't fit as in like the pod would fit, but the ramp wouldn't fit

And then so we've gone, we've tried every single thing we can to make it fit. And now it's because it's not your land, is it's not our land. And also it, the anything that was big enough, anything that would be big enough to fit a wheelchair

Um, where they could have a turning circle and a ramp, we, we'd lose all our garden, and we want to grow things because that's part of what we're doing. You need a roundabout, yeah, yeah, so the, um, the workaround that we found is it's called, it's like a garden, it's like a pagoda, so it is covered and we can have kind of blankets and, um. Because it's not like those kind of garden pod structures, there's no ramp, which means that you can have a wheelchair to go in there, whereas those kind of proper insulated things, they all have a lip, and if you've got a lip, you need a ramp and, and, anyway, I won't bore you with all the details of trying to make that work, so that's been the bit that I kind of rambling but has been really interesting for us as kind of being

Almost steered down one path and then all of a sudden you realise we can't actually make this work. And then having to kind of back up and that's where the council have been really brilliant is we, I think we put in kind of 10,000 pounds was the allocation for the pot and we've had to go back and say, we can't do this, we can't do this. Well, this is the alternative that we've found and that cost £2000

So can we spend the other money in another way? And I even phoned them and I was like, we'll just give you the money back, I don't know what to do, we made a mistake, you know, and actually they said no we don't want the money back, let's try to work out a different way to create this kind of accessible, um, kitchen space, so, uh, what we're doing is, um, we've had kind of approval to install, Some AV equipment so we can have a projector and a screen so that then for any students who might need to have like a recipe kind of beamed really big, we can do that, we can show, we can do more kind of educational videos and things like that, so that's gonna kind of, Enhance what we're able to deliver in classes, um, and there's gonna be some blinds to go with that, um, which will also help in the summer when it's so hot. um, and then the final piece that I'm just working on now is they've allowed us to use the kind of remaining bit of funding to do, um, like a mass IT upgrade, which is something that's gonna support the staff to be able to help our end users cos one of the, Um, one of the big things that we're doing at the moment at Square Food with our strategy is we've expanded our team and we've got, um, more people working in the operational team who are going to kind of, uh, look after our learners once they've finished their programme. So that's about thinking about their next steps and their careers and their pathways and so if they can kind of sit with a laptop and go right, let's do some

Job searching or CV planning and things like that, so even though that's IT that's going to be primarily used for the staff, it's going to support the staff be able to support our learners, if you see what I mean. Um, so if you're on a programme, how long does the programme last? Uh, most of them are 12 weeks. Some

Run for a whole year, so we work with a couple of schools where they come and they do a BTEC qualification that lasts for a whole year, but primarily we do them kind of, um, what used to be an old school term, didn't it, before they became, when it was 3 terms. So yeah, 12 weeks is a programme, um. But, you know, as we said before, and like you said, like

The type of people that we work with often have got challenging backgrounds and lots of, you know, lots of things going on and 12 weeks is just, you're just kind of scratching the surface, aren't you, of, of kind of making them feel comfortable and, uh, confident in what they're doing, but because of funding we have to then churn over the next one, so our way to be able to support people long-term is to say right, well, Um, this is how we can, these are things, other things that you could do, and this is how we're gonna support you get there and make those kind of connections and relationships and try to keep in touch with people where we can, um, and, uh, and actually another big thing is we've got, Now 12 members of staff and our office can fit 4 people, so we're having to make people work from home as well, so we're having to do a bit of a hybrid situation, so that kind of mass IT upgrade is really gonna help us be able to kind of manage. We've had to increase our staff so that we can support our end users, but we just don't have the physical space for all the staff. And the funding from the corporate side, does that also come into just the van like do meals on Wheels type deliveries as well, or no, they do, so it's more um like catering for hire

So someone will say, uh, could you, could you cater our wedding? Could you do a party? Could you do a wake? We have various contracts with some locations in Bristol, um. Yeah, so it's, it's all, it's all different things really, but um, what we are really hoping is that um if we can. Kind of, the plan is to increase the amount of businesses in Bristol that we can deliver lunches to because then if we can also engage with the company and they can kind of buy into our work and they can support that that end user

Um, we do some, um, some of our classes do batch cooking, um, but luckily all those batch cooked meals, they go to the church which is on the other side of that road. So no van needed. Yeah

So that's really brilliant, isn't it? And how have you found the process so far? I know you said um The council were really helpful as far as they allowed this flexibility within, within the contract bidding. Um, how did you find it from the way of how the process was like the documents you had to fill in, what you, you know, the application process, to be honest, that was quite straightforward. I think we're quite lucky that Square Food is relatively well established and we have a trust and foundation bid writer

So that was quite normal and all the, all the kind of Um, the policies and everything that you have to send in, that's quite standard, so I think that was, that was fine, really, um. Yeah, I mean, I think the, yeah, the biggest problem has just been us trying to kind of work out, kind of realising that we have to. Change what we thought we could do, and we, and we kind of go back and almost, I think once we made a decision to say right, we just need to go back to the drawing board rather than we went around in circles trying to work out what were the, what's the pod going to be and it is it gonna, and then I think as soon as we realised we can't do that, we have to just do something else instead and kind of write to the council and say that, then that was like, And that felt kind of OK because I think it's always quite scary to write to a funder and say we got it wrong, we think we're going to need to do something else, and that's actually been really good that they've they've said look as long as we can make whatever you're wanting to change what you want to fund to fit within the project title, then that's kind of OK, you know, and that's, that's

For me, from my experience, that's quite extraordinary because a lot of funders will go, no, you bid for this and that's what you're going to get and And if you're not going to do that, then, then they cut it from the budget, so. For me, I don't know how you feel about it, but it sounds like Bristol City Council have been quite flexible within the constraints of their contract. Yeah, I think so, and I think what's helped is we've just all been very open and I just, when I had um, I think it was with Robin, I had a kind of a teams call and I, I just had to kind of say look, A, I'm inheriting this, so I'm kind of, I'm sorry the bits that I don't know and I'm sorry that it's been late cos we've had all these staff changes and I've just come back from maternity leave and I just had to kind of lay my cards on the table and I think maybe they appreciated that as well rather than try to kind of fudge it and I just, and I just said look, There's two options, I could try, I could come back with an alternative plan or I'm and I'm or I'm genuinely really happy to give you the money back because I realise that this is our issue, not your issue, and I think, Maybe that was helpful for them that we weren't trying to just pretend that we were gonna do something but actually we were gonna do, do you know what I mean? It's just kind of being really open and honest about what, where we're currently at and the challenges that we've had internally that have had an impact on this fund and we've never, we've never had capital funding before, we only ever have project funding, so it was a completely new experience for us as well, we didn't

We didn't know like how you think about these things or the costing or the this and the that, so we've kind of, we've learned a lot on the way. And how did you find their response time and things like that? Oh great. I mean, God, I feel sorry for them

They've been chasing me for loads of things because I'm kind of playing catch up all the time. But um, no, they're great. Yeah, yeah, they're really good

Yeah. And how did you find the flow of money went because some agencies I know. Um, when they've done bidding and they've put in and said this is our bill and then it's taken months to get the money back

Um, I think we've had the money upfront. We've had the money upfront. I think what we need to do, which is I understand why we have to do it, it is a bit of a pain in the arse because it takes quite a lot of time, is every single item you have to provide 3 quotes

And that takes a lot of time, especially when you're more niche projects. Yeah, and, and I think like there was a, I think there was a little bit of funding within that pot that supported us doing this, but I think it's because the project has changed and the scope has changed over time and that's because of changes happening at Square Food. Managing this project has taken me quite a lot of time

And how would you cope without the funding? I think we would have struggled. I think the biggest thing is the van so far. Obviously the other bits are kind of to to be confirmed, right? Because we haven't had the IT

I think that's gonna have a massive impact in the way that We can all perform and support our end users, but that will be hopefully here in the next few weeks, but the van has enabled us to be able to say yes to more work, uh, and has enabled us to then make bigger connections with people and, Um, do you feel it's made you more resilient? Yeah, definitely. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think, you know, for we touched on this before, but you know, as a charity

You now have to be thinking about how can I create my own income, right? The funding, the world of funding is really, really, really difficult. There are more and more people applying for trusts and foundations and there are less and less of them. And so Square Food realised you know if we're gonna survive, we need to have our own income stream and that's why we've set up the catering company

And that resilience to be able to fund our own work, hopefully in 5 years, half of our money can can be self generated, and the catering company provides training for our young people who are on an employability course, so. To be able to do that and say, in that first year of business you have to kind of say yes to everything, don't you, and that's what they can do cos they've got that van, it's electric, that's brilliant, you know, you can feel good about your carbon footprint and all of those things and we can just say yes we can do that, yes we can do that, yes we can do that, yes we can do that, and that is, Also just gives everyone the kind of um. A sense of that feeling quite secure and sustainable as well

And I think that's really important because there's nothing worse than volunteers and staff come to something and it all feels a bit kind of like it may not be here in a few weeks' time. Yeah. And also, you know, in the beginning of doing the catering company, you know, we were just having to kind of do it in our own cars and that's not great and you know, you want to also look really professional and present something that people feel that they have the confidence to buy into, so

That has been, yeah, that's been a really kind of huge, a huge win for us and something that without this funding, we would not be in the position to be able to afford for probably many, many years. I think that's really significant. Yes, it's massive

Yeah, yeah, for sure. OK, so I think we've probably covered all bases now. Oh, good

Sorry, it was a bit rambling. No, not at all. You've put all together, very succinctly what's been going on, difficulties, what's worked and what hasn't

I think you've really thank you. Yeah, no, I feel like it's been, you know, it's been challenging in times to kind of inherit something where you're trying to work out what has, what has been agreed and what hasn't been agreed. And actually, I think being able to just be open and honest with the council and feel like that's OK has been really helpful for us to be able to then kind of find an alternative option, and an alternative route

Yeah, I don't know from my experience, I found them really straightforward. Yeah, yeah, I mean, there are, God, there are some other funding. Uh, organisations that make you jump through way more hoops

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you. You're welcome

Is there anything else you'd like to say before I don't think so. I think, um, I think it's been, you know, it's been a really good learning experience for us, um. Yeah, and for me and just to kind of to have that experience with a funder that feels supportive and I think that, You know, What we're going to see from it when we complete it in the next few weeks is going to be this real kind of opening up of what we're able to do at Square Food, both through kind of making sure that every single person who steps into Square Food feels that they belong in that kitchen and it's been designed for them and it's, we've got all the, all the bits that mean that they can have a really positive experience and that we can kind of, fulfil the need, you know, that need that's really there

Yeah, I did note you've got all the accessories in order to support you with that, like the headphones, yeah, yeah, fidgets. Yeah, so yes, we've got headphones, fidget toys, there's signage, and that signage was we designed that was off the back of the report. So the Wessel report was really helpful

So that was designed off the back of that to make sure that the, you know, it's the right contrast in, in black and white lettering. And then um there's the height adjustable cooking station so that anyone in a wheelchair can also sit alongside and feel that they're really part of that class rather than kind of out on a separate island. Brilliant

Well, thank you very much. Thank you. Lovely Louise for your time

Oh, no, you had a great time. Can't wait for your project to be finished. Yeah, me too

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