Looking to drive social change through food and cooking?
Cook for Change can show you how
ARE YOU
What’s involved?
Our six-week Cook for Change programme will kick off with an immersive bootcamp, aiming to inspire and encourage you to set up a food and cooking based social enterprise. Then you’ll take part in 1:1 and group mentoring sessions, and a pitch and networking event. And there’ll be the chance to receive longer-term support, too.
Why might I need it?
Grant funding is shrinking, which means social organisations need to find innovative ways to generate sustainable incomes. We’ve been there and done that, creating a live example of how social enterprises can tackle social challenges like food insecurity, health inequality and barriers to work. Now we want to help you develop a sustainable solution that makes you look forward to going to work.
What will I get from it?
- You’ll learn from our founders and the people behind Fat Macy’s and The Dusty Knuckle about what works (and what doesn’t).
- You’ll get an under-the-bonnet look at Cook for Good and others’ innovative social trading models, gaining priceless insights to help you turn your ideas into action.
- You’ll join a network of fellow innovators and set off on a social impact adventure.
- And you’ll have the chance to ask questions, share ideas, explore potential partnerships, and get excited about the future.
How can I get a place?
To win one of 20 places on Cook for Change, you’ll need to be hungry to learn, thirsty for inspiration and ready to do things differently. Places are fully subsidised, and we will also cover out-of-pocket bootcamp expenses of up to £100 per day.
Applications close on 10 February, and the bootcamp will take place in London from Tuesday 29 April – Thursday 1 May.
application FORM
Thank you for your interest in our first ever Cook for Change programme. We're excited to learn more about you and your organisation or idea, and to hear how you feel this programme could help you develop it. We're aware that experiences come in all different shapes and sizes, so we hope the following questions give you the flexibility to get that across.
Please review the eligibility criteria and read the FAQs before completing these questions, to make sure that Cook for Change is a good fit for you.
You can save your answers and return to the form. Or you can view all the questions here and save a copy locally.
If anything is unclear, you want to provide feedback, or you would like to send any supporting documents, please email sarah.fahy@cookforgood.uk
prefer A WORD document?
If you prefer to complete the form in a Word document rather than online then please download the application form below and email your completed copy to sarah.fahy@cookforgood.uk by the closing date.
Application formFAQS
Food insecurity and wider inequalities are rising for many people, but there is not enough government or grant funding for organisations delivering support. We need to find innovative ways to deliver social change through food and cooking – whether through running community cafes, food pantries, offering community meals or providing supported employment in hospitality – which generate sustainable income. And we need to provide more support to people who want to do this.
Cook for Good and our partners have developed sustainable social enterprises which tackle social challenges like food insecurity, health inequality and barriers to work. Now we want to help others develop sustainable solutions, too.
We are looking for people who are passionate about delivering social change through food and cooking and have the ambition to start/grow sustainable ventures to do this. You may come from a community food background, such as managing a food pantry; you may have a food based start-up venture and are looking to deliver social value as well as profit; or you may be an individual with a great idea and some track record in developing initiatives or ventures. You will be ambitious, collaborative, and ready to learn.
The programme aims to inspire you through a network of people who have developed sustainable food ventures themselves, others who are on the journey and others still who are important in the wider ecosystem. It will be delivered as a group three-day bootcamp and one-day showcase, followed by the potential for some one-to-one support. See below for more details.
The key in-person dates are:
Bootcamp: Tuesday 29 April, Wednesday 30 April and Thursday 1 May
Showcase: Wednesday 4 June
There will be some online flexible support during May.
The bootcamp and showcase will take place at a combination of the Cook for Good site in north London and our partners' locations. It's important for us and for you that this is a practical, immersive experience.
It is a three-day immersive bootcamp, aiming to inspire and encourage you to either set up or develop a food and cooking based social venture
On day one, you will get to spend time with the founders of Cook for Good and understand their model, start-up journey and learnings. On day two, you will visit two other successful social enterprises, The Dusty Knuckle and Fat Macy's, to meet their founders and learn how they grew their ventures.
Then on day three, you will have the chance to meet and hear from a range of expert contributors, offering practical advice and tips on everything from setting up a production kitchen and governance models for social enterprise and sourcing surplus food, to brand, product and service development and developing a theory of change to measure your social impact.
We are looking to take two or three people forward from the bootcamp into a more tailored programme of support, to help them turn their idea into a venture. They will access a programme of one-to-one and group sessions and mentoring from the Cook for Good leadership team, partners and guest contributors. This will help them to build their plan, identify opportunities for funding and/or social investment, and scope operating sites from our network.
There are two stages to the application process:
1. Apply using our application form
2. Take part in a short interview with Cook for Good team
Applications open on Monday 20 January and close at 5pm on Monday 10 February 2025.
Cook for Change is funded by Peabody, Fusion 21 and Wates Family Enterprise Trust. This means programme places can be subsidised for participants.
We can cover out-of-pocket bootcamp expenses of up to £100 per day.
We anticipate that the majority of participants will be from London, unless travel and accommodation is self-funded. We hope this pilot will lead to programmes being established in other locations in the future.
Cook for Good is committed to protecting your personal information and acting in line with your rights under data protection laws and will treat all data in accordance with our Data Protection Policy.
To process your application, we will collect and use personal information provided by you in the application form. We may use this information to:
• process your application and manage the selection process for this programme
• conduct due diligence on you and your organisation
• contact you about your application for this programme by email
If your application is successful, we may also use your information for:
• managing your participation in the Cook for Change Programme
• sharing and promoting your journey
• other reasons discussed with you
We may share your information with our funders and partners. They will also only use your information for the reasons above.
Further details, including how we share your information and your rights relating to our use of your information, can be found under our Data Protection Notice on our website.
In proceeding with your application, you agree to us processing your application in accordance with our data protection policy.
