Meals funded by No. 1 Watson Street will be served at the Booth Centre, a homeless charity
WHAT tastes even better than a freshly-made handcrafted pizza? Or a sourdough sub that’s bursting with premium locally-sourced filling? That would be a Foodinate No. 1 Watson Street special, which also comes with a good dollop of philanthropy.
Foodinate is an innovative social enterprise, founded in 2015 by Manchester graduate Caroline Stevenson. The idea is simple: choose a Foodinate-branded dish from a participating restaurant and a meal will in turn be donated to someone in need.
Stevenson told the Independent: “It’s all about giving the consumer the choice. In the UK, we are already choosing to go out to eat 1.4 billion times per year so why not make the choice to eat at a Foodinate-partnered restaurant, knowing that every delicious meal we enjoy will provide another meal for a local person in need? If everyone made that choice, just think of the impact we could have.”
On her inspiration for the pioneering scheme, Stevenson said: “Growing up in Manchester, every time I walked from Piccadilly station down towards Market Street, I felt so angry seeing the growing number of people sleeping by the sides of the road, begging for money and food.
“With more than 13 million people in the UK living below the poverty line, I know this is just the tip of the iceberg and I want, more than anything, to create a sustainable impact on this enormous issue … Now, when I walk down that street from Piccadilly, I think to myself: ‘Just wait for me - I am working on it and I am coming back for you.’”
Powered by NatWest’s Entrepreneurial Spark scheme, and supported by a range of local creative agencies such as Shape, Foodinate has received extensive acclaim and since rolled out to destination such as Nottingham and Birmingham; with many more in the pipeline.
Meals funded by No. 1 Watson Street will be served at the Booth Centre, a day centre that offers advice, activities and support to homeless people in Manchester.
Current No. 1 Foodinate specials include Sheep Thrills pizza, a genius invention of lamb kofta with onions, roasted red peppers. Cooked with polenta and specially-imported Caputo flour for extra flavour and texture, using house sauce and quality produce, there’s a reason these craft pizzas have reached near legendary status.
There for lunch? You can also find a Foodinate Beef & Onion sub: Bray Bakery sourdough baguette loaded with topside of beef - roasted to 60 degrees so extra tender and juicy - with a dash of English mustard and a side of baby watercress.
Whilst Foodinate specials regularly change (keep up to date with the current menu here), the quality doesn’t. So tuck in, knowing you’re making that extra bit of difference to those who need it.
Giving never tasted so good.
