Community Supported Baking

The Real Bread Campaign is the only national organisation in the UK championing Community Supported Baking.

If you're sick of industrial loaves and wondered 'how can I help to bring Real Bread back to the heart of my local community?' Community Supported Baking (CSB) might be the answer.

Knead to Know: the Real Bread starter, the guide to starting a CSB or other Real Bread enterprise for your local community, is available now.

Beetroot bread

If you are working on starting a CSB, are wondering if what you're up to already is in fact a CSB, or have any other related questions, please get in touch.

What is Community Supported Baking?
Why set up a Community Supported Bakery?
CSB ideas/examples
British CSBs
CSBs coming soon
Funding
Crowd funding
Marketing
Courses
More links
CSBs overseas
What now?

What is Community Supported Baking?

A CSB isn't simply a bakery within a community, but one in which the risks and rewards of the enterprise are shared. It's true that a local bakery is supported by people in the community buying loaves, but only as and when they feel like it. For the enterprise to be considered a CSB there must be a greater level of involvement and commitment. There needs to be some blurring between the ‘me baker / you customer’ line, with each becoming what Slow Food movement would call a co-producer. See below for CSB ideas/examples.

The inspiration for Community Supported Baking comes from Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), which The Soil Association describes as “A partnership between farmers and consumers where, at best, the responsibilities and rewards of farming are shared.”

For more information on CSA, visit:
Making Local Food Work
The Soil Association

Why set up a Community Supported Bakery?

Potential benefits for the baker

Help from local people to set up a new bakery
Capital
A secure predictable market
Labour
A supportive social life, sense of belonging
Practical help e.g. with distribution

Potential benefits for the consumer

Connection to where your bread comes from
Learning about baking
Community development
Source of exceptional quality bread
Fair trade - a fair price to the baker, the consumer and perhaps even back through the chain to the producers and suppliers of basic ingredients
A financial stake in an ethical enterprise

CSB ideas/examples

There is no single model for how a CSB is set up. Each runs in a way that works best for the people running and using it.

There are many different possible partnership configurations between the baker and community. The most suitable in your situation depends upon the needs and offers of the parties involved. We provide more detail in Knead to Know.

Community ownership
A community bakery could be owned and run by the consumers.

Capital investment
One way for a community to support a bakery is to provide the capital in the form of loans, or shares in the business. T

In kind investments
In kind investments could include waiving/reducing costs of: property rental, flour, grain, milling, equipment, labour for fitting out the bakery, shifts running the shop, shifts in the bake house, another local business adding bread on its own delivery rounds and ‘back office’ (accounts, ordering, marketing etc.) support.

Bread bond
Subscribers making a financial investment in the CSB receive their interest (or even repayment of the loan itself) or share dividend in bread.

Bread as bread
As local produce hits seasonal gluts, the CSB could offer customers discounts on or payments in bread for those ingredients that could be used in loaves e.g. apples, herbs, potatoes, nuts and berries.

Subscription schemes
Customers commit to and pay in advance for a certain number of loaves over a given period of time e.g. two loaves per week for three months. As well as helping the CSB with cashflow, it gives a better idea of demand, thereby reducing risk of food waste

In return, as well as a guaranteed supply of fresh, Real Bread, subscribers receive a discount (perhaps increasing in line with increasing level of commitment) on the CSB’s standard single loaf price.

Apprenticeship/volunteering
As with any enterprise, labour is a major cost. Members of the local community could become co-producers in a CSB by providing their time in return for alternative payments e.g. bread, returned favours or an official LETS scheme.

A more established CSB could enter into a relationship with the wider community of Real Bread bakers by offering an apprenticeship/internship. In this case, the exchange would be the trainee baker giving time in return for the chance to gain skills and experience.

Food hubs and buying co-ops
Co-ops and food hubs operate on a not-for-profit basis and aim to use its bulk order to reduce the price of goods. Both systems can help with getting Real Bread to people who otherwise would have issues (financial, social, geographic or other) with access to it. A CSB can work in partnership with or even incorporate a food hub or buying co-op.

Funding for CSBs

If you are considering (or already) running a CSB, the following might be worth investigating

Funding Central
Website from the National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and The Office for the Third Sector (OTS). Offers comprehensive information about national, local and regional government funding, national, local or regional charitable funding, and EU funding.
www.fundingcentral.org.uk/

UnLtd
Is a charity which supports social entrepreneurs - people with vision, drive, commitment and passion who want to change the world for the better. They offer a complete package of funding and support, to help these individuals make their ideas a reality.
unltd.org.uk/

Grassroots Grants
Offers small grants ( £250 - £5,000, with a maximum total of £5000 over 3 years) to non-profit making, volunteer-led community groups, which have been running for 12 months or more, and which have an income of less than £30,000 a year. This is a three-year programme running from 2008 -2011 offering grants that can be used for general activities, projects or equipment. The funding is from the Office of the Third Sector and is managed nationally by the Community Development Foundation (CDF)
www.cdf.org.uk/web/guest/grassroots-grants

Greggs Foundation
Charity founded by former Greggs plc chairman, Ian Gregg with the aim of 'putting something back into the communities where there are Greggs shops and where customers and employees live.' Gives grants to organisations with charitable objectives in the North East of England.
www.greggsfoundation.org.uk/majorgrants.html

Quartet Community Foundation
'The main focus of Quartet Community Foundation is to change people's lives for the better across the West of England. We do this by enabling a wide variety of donors to fund projects that make a difference where people live and work.'
www.quartetcf.org.uk

See also the following round ups of funding opportunities:
The Soil Association
Fresh Ideas Network

Crowd funding

A relatively recent name for a long-established way of financing an enterprise is crowd funding. In short this involves many people clubbing together to invest in the project. The funders might or might not be the customers/clients/users of the enterprise - e.g. they could be members of a worker-owned co-operative CSB, or people the other side of the planet who believe in your work. This form of investment also applies to bakeries other than CSBs.

Wikipedia has a fuller definition here.

Some ways to arrange crowd funding:

Hold a meeting to showcase your plans to potential investors
Contact potential investors by phone, letter or email
Use social media sites such as facebook and twitter to promote your enterprise and funding scheme. This might also be linked to a website or blog that is the virtual 'home' of your enterprise.
Use a specialised crowd funding website

Crowd funding website include:

www.angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk
www.crowdfunder.co.uk
www.peoplefund.it
www.pleasefund.us
www.wefund.com

If you have had success in securing crowd funding for your Real Bread enterprise we'd love to hear from you so that we can use you as a case study to inspire others. Please contact us.

Marketing

Knead to Know: the Real Bread starter contains chapters on marketing and media relations.

As part of The Soil Association's support for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) groups, Rob Greenland from Social Business Consulting ran workshops on marketing for CSAs. Much of this information is of relevance to CSBs. Click here for notes from his presentation.

Courses

So far, we know of the following places on our courses page offer ones that focus on community baking:

Bread Matters Andrew Whitley's annual three and a half-day course baking for community course is possibly the most comprehensive of its kind in the UK
The Handmade Bakery Learn about starting your own Community Supported Bakery from people who run one
Loaf Though Tom Baker's courses focus on bread, rather than business, this is a social enterprise and you might well be able to pick his brains for tips
The Hornbeam Centre As well as baking for the cafe and weekly farmers' market stall, Pilar Lopez also passes on Real Bread skills to volunteers at this community cafe
Love Loaves having set up their own micro-bakery at home to supply the local shop, Dragan and Penny have produced a Mini-Bakery Blueprint and run courses to share with others who want to learn how they did it.

Examples of CSBs

Here are the UK CSBs we know of so far. All have said that they are happy to chat to those who want to learn more about their stories.

If you see yourself as a CSB but are not on this list, please drop us a line as we’d love to learn about what your up to and help share your experience and advice with others.

Bread…Actually!
"Bread: Made by the community, for the community! We are a new community bakery in Bedale, North Yorkshire. We are passionate about bringing Real Bread to all parts of our community. As a non-for-profit organisation we hope to provide a fantastic resource for the people of our area and to enrich our community through our work. For Bread: We aim to use local ingredients to bake our hand crafted, high quality bread. For Community: We aim to remove all barriers to Real Bread to all members of our community. We also aim to enrich our local area through our community work."

The enterprise's evolution ran in tandem with the restoration of Crakehall Watermill, which was followed by Keo Films and broadcast by BBC2 in December 2011 as The Big Bread Experiment. Along the way, the bakers were given expert guidance by Campaign members Duncan Glendinning and Patrick Ryan of the Thoughful Bread Company; Dan and Johanna McTiernan of The Handmade Bakery; and Campaign co-founer Andrew Whitley of Bread matters. Action for Market Towns case study of Bread...Actually!
breadactually.com

Dunbar Community Bakery
Opened in October 2011. "Dunbar Community Bakery Limited is a community co-operative that is owned by its members and is accountable to them. By investing as a shareholder you will become a member of the co-operative. All shareholders have just one vote, no matter how much money they contribute. You will be helping to build a positive future for our community, supporting a regenerated High Street and the local production of wholesome and nutritious food. This new venture will fill the gap left on the High Street left by the closure of Smith’s Bakery." Read more in this BBC Scotland business news article
www.dunbarcommunitybakery.org.uk

The Handmade Bakery
Quite possibly the first CSBers in the UK, not-for-profit bakers Dan and Johanna McTiernan and Matt Betts in Slaithwaite, Yorkshire offer a subscription scheme and are working on bread bonds. Having started by baking two loaves at a time in their IKEA oven at home, then graduating to borrowing the pizza oven of a local Italian restaurant, they next moved on to bake over 1200 loaves of Real Bread a week at the back of the community-owned Green Valley Grocer. In Summer 2011, they moved to yet a larger bakery, whilst maintaining their community, co-operative and Real Bread principles.

See also this article on the Making Local Food Work website and another from The Daily Telegraph.
www.thehandmadebakery.coop

Loaf Social Enterprises
Having founded Loaf to promote real food and healthy living in Birmingham and build community through food, appropriately-named Tom Baker launched his CSB subscription scheme in early 2010.
www.loafonline.co.uk

The Oxford Bread Group
Cereal breeder/grower (and archeobotanist) John Letts and Cornfield Bakery director Geoff Coleman co-ordinate a subscription scheme to get Real Bread, baked from locally grown wheat (heritage/ancient varieties that also produce good thatching straw) to local food hubs.
www.oxfordlocalbread.org

Slow Dough Bakery
Leon Pearson launched his bread club in January 2011. Members pay a monthly subscription and receive a large loaf of their choice from the bakery's range, which they can collect from the bakery in East Berholt, Suffolk, on a Saturday morning. This ensures members have the loaf of their choice and also get a discount on the standard retail price.

Example prices for a one month subscription: (prices correct January 2011)

Yeasted breads (Overnight seeded brown tin 800g) – £9.50
Standard sourdoughs (Pain au levain 800g, Pain au levain with wholewheat 800g or Rye and caraway 800g) – £10.50
Speciality sourdoughs (Russian rye 800g, Wholemeal miche 1000g) – £12.50

www.slowdoughbakery.co.uk

The Fife Diet / The Steamie Bakehouse
"A [Steamie Bakehouse] Real Bread Group is a group of neighbours who get together to order at least 10 loaves per week from us on an ongoing basis. We deliver to one household and the other members pick up their bread from there. The advantages for you are that you always get the loaves you want, you always get them at their best, and you get to know more of your neighbours. The advantages for us are that we can better anticipate demand, so there's less waste, and we don't need to operate retail premises - also advantages for you, since they keep our costs down. If you would like to join a bread club, we can let you know if one exists in your area. If there isn't one yet, we can help you set it up. We are happy to bring a batches of samples for groups to try, and to chat about how the bread club works." www.steamiebakehouse.com/breads

Bethesdabakers
Mick Hartley runs Bethesdabakers, a two day a week sourdough microbakery, from his 'small terraced house in Snowdonia.' He bakes six regular and three special breads a week, taking advance orders from a pool of regular customers. He plans to publish a book of his breads and whole business model in late 2011. http://thepartisanbaker.wordpress.com

Slow Loaf
'I currently bake around 35 sourdough loaves to order on Thursday night for my Friday delivery, and again on Sunday night for Monday. Knead to know has actually made me go slower and think of different angles and I feel this book has a lot to offer to bakers at all levels. In the very near future I am opening a stall on my front drive to supply more of my neighbours which will operate on a Saturday.'
www.slowloaf.com

and coming soon...

Breadshare
"We are a group of people who love Real Bread and want it to be available to everybody, creating a viable, sustainable, not-for-profit bakery business in the Scottish Borders. We make bread in an artisan tradition, using organic ingredients, slow fermentation methods and, where possible, locally sourced ingredients.

Breadshare Community Interest Company is raising funds through loans, investments and small grants to equip and start the bakery in rented premises at Whitmuir the Organic Place, Lamancha.Our intention is to build the capacity for a sustainable and viable Community-Supported Bakery that can supply local village markets, small businesses, box schemes and those in rural areas with poor access to amenities. Innovative distribution systems will make use of existing neighbourhood networks and journeys. Staff and volunteers will demonstrate the grain chain in action to schools and community groups. The Breadshare bakery will eventually employ three professional bakers and provide part-time employment and volunteering opportunities."
breadshare.co.uk

Doughies
'We are currently running a CSB trial called 'the baker's dozen' from a suburban flat. We bake twelve loaves of Real Bread a week and deliver to twelve households over twelve weeks; we're currently on week seven. Knead to Know is now rag eared and flour filled; the recipes were a good starting point, and the general advice is shaping what we're doing. We're just getting registered so as to attend a couple of local events and farmers markets..then who knows?! One loaf at at time...'
www.doughies.wordpress.com

East Anglia Food Link
Is exploring the options for baking a local loaf, perhaps in a CSB scheme.
www.eafl.org.uk/ResilientBread.asp

Food4Macc Direct / Doyotte Bread
Subscribers sign up for a minimum of three months for £9 per month and receive a loaf each week. Loaves are baked on a Tuesday and available for collection Tuesday evening at the Waters Green Tavern near Macclesfield railway station from 6 to 6:30pm or Wednesday lunchtime at Age Concern at 8 Market Place from 12 noon to 2pm.
www.food4macc.org

Lewes Community Kitchen and Bakery
'Our aim is to establish a multi purpose community supported kitchen and bakery which has good food, real bread, education, sustainability and social enterprise at its heart. Things have been progressing very positively indeed. The Learning Development Centre in East Brighton has donated a load of fantastic equipment, we are clooking at several sites which could house this enterprise, and are in the process of writing several funding bids to support this project. Here is a PDF (1mb) of the opinions gathered via the Lewes Bread Club and at Baking Communities on 9 November 2011.

A focused consultation and visioning session will be held in Lewes on Saturday 21 January 2012, from 10.00 until 13.00. To book your place contact Community Chef Robin van Creveld

www.facebook.com/pages/Lewes-Community-Kitchen

Community Supported Baking overseas

CSBs beyond Blighty...

The Backdoor Bakery
"The Backdoor Bakery is planning to offer its customers a share in its Community Supported Bakery (CSB). Borrowing from the concept of community supported agriculture, consumers and a bakery join together in economic partnership in a CSB. In this partnership, consumers purchase a "bakery share" – a weekly delivery of quality pastries, breads, and desserts – and the bakery has a reliable and stable market for its products."
backdoorbakeryvt.com

Indian Ridge Farm
"The CSA at Indian Ridge Farm & Bakery is unique in that members will receive not only FRESH organically grown vegetables and salad greens (assuming no blights, grasshopper infestations or major drought!), but also pastured poultry raised and processed on the farm, organic bread and granola from the bakery, and eggs laid by pastured, grass fed layer hens."
indianridgefarm.org/csa

8 Arms Community Bakery
"8 Arms Community Bakery offers you a chance to participate in a bakery share program. Using a “community supported” model the bakery lover can buy into a share session for 20 weeks. Each week you get a box of baked goods to enjoy. This model allows you to build a relationship with the producer of your goods. Your money’s paid up front (or in a payment plan) which allows me to buy ingredients in bulk and avoid over production. This keeps prices affordable and the money you spend goes directly into the local economy."
8armsbakery.com

All Good Bakers
"Similar to the structure of the Community Supported Agriculture model, our CSB brings our shareholders sustainable bread & baked goods, made with organic (locally milled) flours and other local, organic (or organic-practices) ingredients, every week during the winter season, November to April. Nick & Britin Foster have been baking for regional farmer's markets for the past 7 years. We are passionate about baking with local and organic ingredients, partnering with local farms and proudly publish our suppliers. We believe supporting our local farmers is critical to building our local economy and the health of our community.."
allgoodbakers.weebly.com

Community Bread Oven
"...uses baking to empower women in low-income and immigrant communities in Boston. Through our Women Bakers Program, CBO partners with bakeries and local kitchens across Boston to train women in baking and business management. These breads are then sold through Community Supported Agriculture and seasonal outdoor markets, as well as through a catering branch servicing cultural organizations and their functions. As an additional initiative, Community Bread Oven builds community ovens across Boston. These tangible ovens serve as a gathering place for residents and their families, fostering community pride and enriching the public space."
communitybreadoven.blogspot.com

Hot Bread Kitchen
"...is a non-profit social enterprise that creates better lives for low-income women and their families. We do this by paying women while they learn the skills necessary to launch food businesses and achieve management track positions in food manufacturing. To help offset the cost of our training and to build esteem in the contribution of immigrants, we sell delicious multi-ethnic breads that are inspired by our bakers and the many countries that they come from. We make it a priority to use local and organic ingredients. As part of our mission, we preserve valuable baking and culinary traditions and “br-educate” New Yorkers about the tasty and important contributions of immigrant communities. We offer bread shares 22 weeks out of the year."
hotbreadkitchen.org

The Wild Oven
"The WILD OVEN Breadshare makes the best, freshest bread available to the people of Juneau, with minimal waste, shipping and packaging, while providing right livelihood to a local artisan. In this world where quantity reigns over quality, independent artisans struggle to honor the traditions of our ancestors, against the dehumanizing force of industrialization. The cost of the Breadshare is $5.71 per loaf ($6 with tax). Sign up with a minimun 5 loaf payment of $30 ($28.58 without tax). 10 loaf payment of $60 recommended. Your credits will never expire."
wildoven.com/breadshare

Diva Boutique Bakery
"Join our C.S.B. Program and pre-pay for your baked goods. We’re offering 2 – 5 week program options till the end of the year. Programs can be tailored to your tastes, below are some guidelines: €80 program (€16/week)= 1 700g loaf of fresh bread (your choice) 2 brownies/bar cakes – ½ loaf cake. €45 program (€9/week) = 1 700g loaf of fresh bread (your choice) 2 brownies/bar cakes – ½ loaf cake Weekly pick-up @ Kinsale farmers market Wednesdays, or Thursday in Ballinspittle Programs begin 9th of November and end 7th of December 2011, pre-payment required, with option to extend your program."
divaboutiquebakery.blogspot.com/p/csb-program

Raisin' Dough
"Raisin' Dough is a Community Supported Bakery; members purchase an 8-week subscription and receive a generous weekly share of artisan breads, cookies, pastries, cakes, pies and more, all baked by students in the Promise Culinary School Baking & Pastry Program. The Bakery runs year-round, and subscriptions can start at any time. Shares are picked up on Fridays from 3-6PM at the Culinary School, located at 211 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick. 8-week subscriptions are available for $150 ($18.75/week). The Bakery will begin operations with only 25 members, so sign up today! Membership is a great way to support your community and enjoy delicious baked goods at the same time."

betterworldcafeblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/raisin-dough-community-supported-bakery

Fancy and Delicious
'We are a micro-sized bakery who believe in real bread at real prices for real people. A strong community starts with good food and a robust local economy. Support your local bakers!' Based in Buffalo, NY state. Each shareholder pays $50 for which they receive one loaf of Real Bread a week for twelve weeks.

fancyanddelicious.blogspot.com

What now?

Our book, Knead to Know:the Real Bread starter, gives much more information on how to set up your own bread making business.

For more support, why not join other bakers, millers, growers, retailers, activists and Real Bread lovers in general and become a member of the Campaign? Amongst the benefits this offers is access to The Real Baker-e, our online community in which members can share information, ideas and ask each other questions.

Most importantly - build up your experience of baking Real Bread, both in your own bakehouse, and working alongside an experienced professional.