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Social Bite, the social enterprise that aims to end homelessness, has launched its very first coffee shop in London, in partnership with independent hospitality food service provider, BaxterStorey.
It will operate a rewarding ‘Pay-It-Forward’ system whereby customers who come in to buy a coffee or a sandwich can buy an additional meal or hot drink in advance for someone who is homeless to redeem later.
The new opening will become Social Bite’s very first site outside of Scotland and will employ people from the homeless community to work there full-time. The charity aims for one in four of its staff to come from a background of homelessness.BaxterStorey, who will be providing operational support and staff, also worked with the Social Bite team on its first site in Edinburgh.
Like all other of its sites across Scotland, Social Bite aims to give out an average of 180,000 items of free food and hot drinks year-round across its network of coffee shops and charity partners. It has provided more than 800,000 food packs during the pandemic alone.
The new shop will be a permanent fixture located within the hustle and bustle of the Strand near Covent Garden. The Borough of Westminster, specifically the Strand, is the ‘epicentre’ of homelessness in the UK, with an exceptionally high number of rough sleepers.
Josh Littlejohn MBE, Founder of Social Bite, said: “We are delighted to be able to launch a new coffee shop in central London. It’s such an incredible milestone for us all here at Social Bite. There are many great charities already working in London, but we truly believe that our social impact program is life-changing and provides something unique, having helped the lives of thousands we are excited to bring this change to the streets of London.”
Ronan Harte, CEO, BaxterStorey, added: “We are acutely aware of the issues around homelessness, not just in London, but across the UK, and are proud to be collaborating with organisations like Social Bite to help tackle some of the challenges facing an increasing number of people today.
“This cafe will give many people the opportunity to contribute in their own way, as well as offer some of the most vulnerable people in society a viable route into work.”
Social Bite was founded by Josh Littlejohn and Alice Thompson in 2012, after a young homeless man came into its Edinburgh café and asked for a job. Since then, Social Bite has been committed to tackling homelessness via innovative programmes including training, employment, and housing; having pioneered the Scottish Government’s adoption of Housing First. It now has five fully functional coffee shops in three cities in Scotland, each employing people who have experienced homelessness.
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