Australia’s first social-enterprise bakery The Bread & Butter Project has partnered with Woolworth to open a concession store.
Located at Woolworths Metro Park Sydney, the new store marks the first time Woolworths Metro has outsourced its bakery operations to a third party.
Under the partnership, Woolworths Metro will fit out the concession store and provide bakery equipment while The Bread & Butter Project will be in charge of sourcing labour and artisan sourdough baking expertise.
“Our first concession store with Woolworths Metro gives us the opportunity to bring our delicious bread to a wider audience, starting in Erskineville,” said Cindy Carpenter, chairperson of The Bread & Butter Project.
“At the same time, we are extremely grateful for Woolworths’ ongoing support throughout what has been a very tough year for small businesses around the country,” she added.
The Bread & Butter Project offers a selection of sourdough, rolls and baguettes. A considerable amount of items will be produced by Steven Qaqas and Salwan Shaooka, both refugees who fled Iraq to escape the threat of ISIS.
According to the company, all the profits generated from the concession store will be contributed to training programs and employment pathways for refugees and people seeking asylum.
The Bread & Butter Project’s program has graduated 45 professional artisan bakers into employment in Australia’s hospitality industry, and has capacity to take up to 30 new trainees a year.
