Delicious UK - (01)January 2020

K

nownasthestaffoflife,a loafof

breadis a symbolofsufficiency

andcommunity– qualitieskeyto

thespecialcharitystartedbyJohnLister,

owneroforganicflourproducerShipton

Mill.In 2016 helauncheda pilotscheme

calledBreadwinners,givingpeoplefrom

marginalisedgroupsthebasictoolsto

setuptheirownbreaddeliverybusiness

andearnanincome:a bike,a trailerand

partnership with a local organic bakery.

THEMISSION

Today,Breadwinnerssupportspeoplewith

officialrefugeestatus,whohavetheright

toworkintheUK,tobecomemanagersof

a breadstallatoneofsixfarmers’markets

inLondon.Peopleworkpart-timeona

self-employedbasis,earninga livingwage,

andthebreadtheysellcomesatcostprice

frompartnerbakeriesincludingGail’s,The

DustyKnuckleBakeryandCelticBakers.

“It’sa nicecommunitywhere

Breadwinnerscaninteractwithover 200

customersa day,”saysthecharity’s

directorMartinCosarinskyCampos.

Thesociablemarketsettingboosts

languageskillsandconfidencelevels,

plusthosetakingpartcancompletea

Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate and

gainskillsinfinanceandcustomerservice.

ThecharityalsorunsRisers,a

programmethathelpsasylumseekers

aged16-24togainworkexperienceon

a volunteerbasiswhiletheyawaitofficial

refugeestatus.Thewaitcanbelongand

difficult– 58percentofasylumclaims

takelongerthansixmonthsandcurrent

governmentasylumsupportis £5perday.

Risers undertakeshiftsona breadstall

overa two-monthperiodandarealso

givenmentoredtrainingsessionsin

practicalskillssuchasCVwriting.

Bothprogrammesareopentopeople

livinginLondon,andpeoplecanapplyvia

theBreadwinners’websiteorbereferred

byorganisationsincludingDost(Centre

forYoungRefugees&Migrants),the

RefugeeCouncilandtheBritishRedCross.

Sofar, 49 Breadwinnershavecompleted

themainprogramme,with 100 percent

goingontootherjobs– impressivegiven

that government research has shown

morethanhalfofallrefugeesstruggleto

find jobs after nearly two years in the UK.

WHYDOESITMATTER?

“Ourfocusis togivethatfirstopportunity

thatunfortunatelyis sohard,dueto

languagebarriers,culturaldifferencesor

badperceptions,”saysMartin.“We’re

tryingtochangethatandonewayis by

provingthatmigrantsandrefugeeshave

amazingskills:theyarepassionate,

positiveandhard-working.”

StallmanagerMahmoud,originally

fromSudan,explainshowBreadwinners

hashelpedhim:“Theactivitieshave

changedmylife.I didhealthandsafety

traininganda CVworkshop.Now,with

thecustomersinthemarket,I can talk

to them and feel comfortable.”

HOWYOUCANGETINVOLVED

Anyonewitha passionforsupporting

refugeesandbasicknowledgeofUK

employmentcanapplytovolunteer

asa mentor;fulltrainingis provided.

FollowBreadwinnersonInstagram

(@wearebreadwinners)andvisitthe

websitetodonateandtofindoutwhere

youcanbuyBreadwinners loaves.

breadwinners.org.uk WORDS: PHOEBE STONE

18 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

making a difference.

Givingthanksfortheirdailybreadhasrealresonanceforthepeoplewhotakepart

in Breadwinners – a charity offering a lifeline to refugees and asylum-seekers

Refugeeshave

amazingskills:theyare

passionate,positiveand

hard-working

How loaves are changing lives

Charity boss Martin Cosarinsky Campos (with beard) and some of the people he’s helped into work, including stall manager Mahmoud (above)