We need your help to grow our community Bakehouse, provide more volunteering opportunities and bake more bread
At The Sidwell Street Bakehouse we specialise in sourdough breads and treats using stoneground organic flours. We want to make great quality, nutritious bread more accessible to everyone in Exeter and we want to train more people in the craft of real bread. Our volunteer programme is open to everyone, with any level of experience and from all backgrounds.
During lockdown we saw the demand for our bread increase significantly, and as a small, local organisation we were able to reinvent our business to offer Covid-safe home deliveries. With a minimum order of just £5 for free delivery by bicycle, we delivered to up to 50 households each week. We were operating above capacity, and we could only meet this level of demand thanks to volunteer delivery riders, and by using rooms in the rest of the community centre while it was closed. We believe in the importance of local businesses to create a resilient food system, and we want to continue to be there, providing a staple product (along with some delicious treats), whatever comes our way. To do this we need more space.
We also desperately need more space to work with more volunteers and train more people. Before Covid-19, our tiny bakery meant 1 or 2 volunteers could work with us at a time, and we were already beginning to see a need to find bigger premises. Now we need that extra space more than ever. With job losses as a result of the Covid crisis, we want to provide more employment opportunities and help people retrain and learn new skills. We want to be able to provide meaningful, tailored volunteering placements that support people to develop in the ways they want – whether this is towards employment, for therapeutic benefit or to meet new people (at a safe distance).
We have been working with Princesshay and The Crown Estate to secure use of 178/179 Sidwell Street – a three storey disused building just over the road from the community centre. There’s plenty of room there to create a fantastic, welcoming space for our volunteers and customers. Your donations will be used towards the cost of relocating the Bakehouse. The money raised will allow us to install the necessary 3 phase electrics and plumbing, move our bread ovens and mixer, and create a welcoming space. We have already raised a good chunk of the funds required from The Crown Estate, Social Enterprise Support Fund, and Power to Change, but we need your help for the final push. Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated, whether it is £50 via our crowdfunder, or some spare change next time you buy a loaf. We’d also love your help to spread the word – so shout from the rooftops (or just share our social media posts).