I want to bake free!

By the beginning of the Commonwealth Games in July 2014, Glasgow will have a new bakery serving a range of Real Bread and baked goods including some thoughtful reinventions of Scottish classics. The delicious difference will be that, as well as fresh bread, The Freedom Bakery will offer people fresh starts by providing training and employment to ex-offenders.

Ex-offenders often have poor levels of education and find themselves effectively barred from the normal pursuit of employment. Being employed gives people the obvious structure we all need to keep a healthy, secure lifestyle, maintain relationships, and helps ex-offenders turn away from further crime. 

In Scotland the reoffending rate is 64%. A key to breaking the cycle is securing employment, yet only 3% of those who leave Scotland’s largest prison, Barlinnie, find a job once outside. When it comes to benefits to wider society, Scottish charity The Wise Group found that every ex-offender kept in regular employment for five years would save the taxpayer £940,000.

The Freedom Bakery has received interest from both the BBC (who are keen to film a documentary) and also the Home Office, who have expressed an interest in our ambition to reduce the public cost of our ex-offending staff to zero.

At the moment we are finalising our plans and by the time you read this we’ll have started the arduous process of seeking investment. We are still a long way from refining our craft and are appealing for partnerships with people and organisations that could help us in the start-up process. We are also looking for any Real BreadCampaign supporters who may wish to join our advisory board. 

@thefreedombakery

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Originally published in True Loaf magazine issue 18, January 2014.

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See also

• Mixing, kneading, proving, living
• Knuckle sandwich