McCain Foodservice Solutions partners with KERB in Streets Ahead project

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.

The Streets Ahead collaboration whose mission is to create opportunity through great food from the kerb up, will allow 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, and The Connection at St. Martin’s, a homeless charity in Westminster, where 15 per cent of all homeless people in England are located.

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

“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 managing director, 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."

Following the online course, 45 people will be given the opportunity to progress to the next stage and join an immersion day, visiting KERB street food markets around London and gaining first-hand experience from those who have been through the classroom and successfully started their own food business. Then, with the help of KERB mentors, they will be invited to pitch to a panel where 10 new businesses will receive an investment of up to £10,000 each as well as being offered a long-term opportunity to trade at a KERB market.

To find out more about the programme, visit the Streets Ahead project here