£550k boost for sandwich shop’s new academy

An Edinburgh sandwich shop has been awarded £550,000 to go towards the running of its new academy.

The donation will enable Social Bite – a social enterprise chain of sandwich shops which donates all profits to good causes – to significantly increase its work with Scotland’s homeless community.

The Big Lottery funding will go towards the running of the Social Bite Academy, which has been set up to support the firm’s business model of employing a quarter of its staff from homeless backgrounds, as well as towards expanding its after-hours evenings to feed the homeless.

The Academy offers a paid four-year course aimed at breaking the cycle of homelessness by providing support ranging from social integration, housing help, skills training and work experience, with each student gaining paid employment in the Social Bite sandwich shop chain or with partner commercial businesses.

Maureen Mcginn, Big Lottery Fund Scotland chair, said: “This lifechanging money will help Social Bite support people in Scotland’s three main cities who are facing challenging circumstances. From giving a hot meal through to providing training and volunteering opportunities for those who need them most, it’s a truly innovative project which transforms life chances.”

Social Bite co-founder, Josh Littlejohn, said: “The Big Lottery funding is such a boost for our business.”