Cracking Good Food

Cracking Good Food was founded on the fundamental belief that EVERYONE deserves good food. Recognizing that many people lack the skills, confidence, or resources to cook nutritious and affordable meals from scratch, they set out to bridge this gap and address the interconnected issues of food poverty, food waste, and unsustainable food systems.

Mission and Vision: Alleviating Poverty, Increasing Food Security

Cracking Good Food's core mission is simple yet profound: to alleviate food, fuel, and kitchen kit poverty and increase food security in Greater Manchester and beyond. They aim to achieve this by:

• Enthusing, encouraging, and teaching individuals, families, young people, and community groups how to source and cook affordable, healthy, and tasty food from scratch.
• Minimising both food waste and their environmental impact.
• Working collaboratively with like-minded organizations and individuals to create a stronger, more positive good food culture within communities.

Their vision is for food-secure, healthy, and resilient communities with strong local economies, where access to healthy, culturally appropriate ingredients and the knowledge to cook tasty food from scratch are widely available.

Core Philosophy: "Cook from Scratch" with a Conscience

Cracking Good Food's philosophy is deeply rooted in practicality, sustainability, and empowerment:

• Cooking as a Life Skill: They champion cooking from scratch as a vital life skill that empowers individuals to take control of their health and finances.
• Affordability: They focus on teaching how to make delicious, nutritious meals on a budget, challenging the perception that healthy food is expensive.
• Sustainability & Seasonality: They promote the use of seasonal ingredients, local sourcing (from independent shops where possible), reducing food waste, and encouraging a lower meat intake. They advocate for purchasing loose fruit and vegetables to minimise packaging.
• Holistic Approach: They understand that food poverty is linked to broader issues, including fuel poverty (the cost of cooking) and access to equipment.
• "More Than Food": They go beyond simply providing food, aiming to build skills, confidence, and community resilience.
• Social Enterprise Model: As a Community Interest Company (CIC), their profits are reinvested back into their community outreach work, demonstrating a sustainable business model for social good.

Feeding the 5000 - Manchester - June - 2013

Key Program Areas and Activities:

Cracking Good Food delivers its mission through a diverse range of interconnected programs:

1. Community Cooking Workshops:

   • Accessible and Empowering: They offer "cook from scratch" community cooking workshops for all ages (0-99+), bringing their portable kitchen, ingredients, and equipment directly to community groups.
   • Tailored Content: Sessions cover themes like affordability, health and nutrition, low-fuel cooking (critical during the cost-of-living crisis), seasonality, and sustainability. They can be one-off sessions, demos, or longer 6-8 week programmes.
   • Partnerships: They work extensively with food banks, pantry schemes (like Woodley Pantry), affordable food clubs, housing associations (like The Guinness Partnership), and other community organizations to reach vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups.
   • Social Impact: They have harnessed over 20,000 volunteer hours to cook and distribute over 104,000 meals to people experiencing homelessness, food poverty, social isolation, or ill-health across Greater Manchester, using perfectly good ingredients intercepted from food waste.

2. Cookery School (Income-Generating):

   • Public Classes: They run a highly regarded cookery school (e.g., at Freight Island in Manchester city centre) offering a range of masterclasses in diverse cuisines (Japanese, Vegan, Bread Making, South Indian, North Indian, etc.) and skills (foraging).
   • Subsidizing Community Work: Fees from these classes directly support the core running costs of their community outreach programs, embodying their social enterprise model. Each ticket sold also provides a nourishing meal for the homeless community.

3. Kitchen Kit Call Out & Redistribution:

   • Addressing Equipment Poverty: They collect clean, complete, and working pre-loved kitchenware (e.g., mugs, graters, pots) that might otherwise go to landfill.
   • Redistribution: This equipment is then redistributed to individuals and families in need, ensuring they have the tools necessary to cook at home. Over 5 tonnes of equipment have been intercepted and redistributed so far.

4. Campaigning and Advocacy:

   • Food Poverty Alliance: They are an active part of the Greater Manchester Food Poverty Alliance, working collaboratively to influence policy and systemic change.
   • Cost-of-Living Crisis Resources: They produce free resources, such as their "Power Up the Flavour" booklet, offering budget recipes, meal plans, shopping lists, and low-fuel cooking tips, often developed with in-house nutritionists.
   • Broader Food System Change: They advocate for a more affordable, sustainable, and healthier food system for all, campaigning on issues like food waste, holiday hunger, and the impact of processed food.

5. Corporate Team Building and Catering:

   • They offer bespoke team-building events and parties, and catering services, providing another revenue stream to support their charitable work. These often involve cooking meals for people in need, offering a unique corporate social responsibility experience.

Impact and Achievements: A Recipe for Positive Change

Cracking Good Food has had a significant and measurable impact:

• Empowering Thousands: They have taught thousands of individuals, families, and community groups to cook, building essential life skills and confidence.
• Alleviating Food Poverty: Directly provides meals and equips people to feed themselves affordably.
• Reducing Waste: Successfully intercepts tonnes of food and kitchen equipment from landfill, promoting a circular economy.
• Building Community Resilience: By fostering skills and connections, they enable communities to be more resilient in the face of economic hardship.
• Driving Systemic Change: Through their advocacy and partnerships, they contribute to broader efforts for a fairer and more sustainable food system in Greater Manchester and beyond.
• Recognized Excellence: As a not-for-profit social enterprise, they have been recognized for their innovative approach, including winning "Best Business" in 2018.

Cracking Good Food is a shining example of how a passionate, practical, and collaborative organization can make a profound difference in addressing critical social and environmental issues, one delicious, home-cooked meal at a time.