McCain launches programme to give back to GB hospitality

McCain Foodservice Solutions has partnered with street food membership organisation, KERB, to provide individuals from less-advantaged backgrounds with the opportunity to bring their food business idea to life.

Streets Ahead is a collaboration between McCain Foodservice Solutions and KERB, whose mission is to create opportunity and joy through great food from the kerb up, to sponsor 115 people to join the KERB classroom, an online food start-up course which helps take food business ideas out of people’s heads and make them a reality.

McCain Foodservice Solutions will also invest £100,000 in ten new street food business start-ups as part of the initiative.

To ensure McCain Foodservice Solutions is helping those that really need support, the company will also be working with UK charities such as Food Behind Bars, a charity dedicated to improving food served in British Prisons; TERN (The Entrepreneurial Network C.I.C.) who support refugees to become entrepreneurs, launch businesses and take control of their own futures; and The Connection at St. Martin’s, a homeless charity in Westminster, where 15 per cent of all homeless people in England are located.

To make sure everyone can access the KERB classroom, McCain Foodservice Solutions will be providing laptops to the charities.

With the street food market set to keep growing, McCain Foodservice Solutions is on a mission to be able to give something back to foodservice and look at more innovative ways to reach an otherwise untouched pool of talent and help them to help kick start their career in foodservice and help the future of the industry. ​

“We know how challenging recent times have been for foodservice and we know it is difficult to get people back into the industry,” said Richard Jones, VP Commercial for McCain Foodservice Solutions GB.

“With the last two years behind us, we’re beyond excited to be partnering with KERB to launch the Streets Ahead programme to help create opportunities in the foodservice industry for those who are passionate about food and help bring their ideas to life.”

KERB social enterprise MD, Gavin Dunn, added: “KERB has a great track record of incubating and accelerating small independent food businesses, so we’re delighted to be partnering with McCain on the Streets Ahead programme. By working with our charity partners, we’re pleased to offer free places on the KERB Classroom course to make sure that we can support and empower individuals that need it most, to develop their own food businesses.”