Real Ways Restaurants Are Getting Involved In Their Communities

How your restaurant can get involved in your community

Support local people

Building lasting relationships with the people living in your area will establish your business as part of the community and generate repeat custom.

• In the UK, Young’s pubs have been running their ‘Meet-Up Mondays’ since 2018. Locals are invited to visit their local pub every Monday for free tea, coffee and sandwiches – a valuable opportunity for companionship and community support. Another concept from several of Young’s pubs – one example being the Coach & Horses, Barnes – allows for local community groups to use their private room free of charge for classes and events. These include NCT classes, first aid classes, baby yoga and a book club. 
• Accessible to all with a "pay-as-you-can" structure, The Long Table in Stroud creates a gathering place where every meal offers an opportunity for meaningful connection, welcoming everyone to socialise, break bread and find belonging. As founder Tom Herbert says, “We're not just a restaurant; we are a movement. Whoever you are, whatever your story, pull up a chair and join The Long Table as we redefine the very essence of a restaurant.”
• In Dubai, Maisan15 Café provides space for artists’ work to shine while also creating a place for people needing a quiet place to work, contemplate and escape the hype of the city. Their support of the local community includes hosting and contributing to worthy community fundraising events. 

Support local groups

Offering your space, time, expertise and/or resources to local organisations is another way to cement your position in the community.

• In the UK, the Fooditude team works with local charity United St Saviours, which has just launched an innovative social housing project called Appleby Blue Almshouse. “They have a community kitchen and we’ll be hosting workshops there. Our first one is this May: we're going to do a cooking demo with youth from an organisation called XLP that helps young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to stay in school and start thinking about their careers, and then serve the food to the seniors who live in Appleby Blue,” says Cristina Covello, Head of Strategic Growth. They're also setting up a weekly soup kitchen, using surplus food from the Fooditude kitchen to dish up a simple hot meals.
• At The Bull Inn, they regularly provide free kitchen space to Food in Community (a food box scheme that supplies a network of charity partners working with disadvantaged people). Their venue is also used by local community groups, and they collaborate with local businesses to host not-for-profit events. 
• Lavang is currently in discussion with their local primary school with the aim of sponsoring a growing club, giving kids the opportunity to grow produce that can be used onsite. 
• In Dubai, Chef Russell Impiazzi (Executive Chef, Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk) is very active with several community initiatives. These include giving hands-on cooking lessons to school children, showing them that cooking can be fun and teaching the basics of healthy eating.

Support other local businesses

Local sourcing keeps money in your regional economy, builds short, resilient supply chains and creates strong relationships with suppliers you know and trust. It can also help your customers to feel more connected to their locality through their food.

• At The Bull Inn, the focus is on hyper-local food: out of their 20 food suppliers, 14 are based within 15 miles of the pub.
• The majority of Lavang’s produce is bought from local independent suppliers. “This does require more effort and sometimes higher costs,” says Owner-Manager AJ Ali, “but it means we can keep money in the local economy.”
• Each of The PIG Hotel Group’s locations works with local producers to showcase the best of what’s to offer in the area, with almost all ingredients coming from small-scale suppliers within a 25-mile radius. 

Support the local environment

Caring for your natural environment should include making responsible sourcing choices and minimising any pollution created by your business – but it can also be an opportunity for connection with local residents, neighbouring businesses and the natural world.

• The local environment is a key focus for Young’s pubs. Teams plant local trees, grow their own herbs and produce and, in the White Bear, Kennington, even keep their own beehives in the pub garden! Several of the locations situated along the river Thames also organise river clean-ups in association with Plymouth Gin and the Ocean Conversation Trust, teaming up with local volunteers to comb the riverbanks for litter. Afterwards, volunteers are invited back to the pubs for a complimentary drink, live music and games to celebrate their hard work.

Give back

Supporting local charities is a chance for your business to do real good, while also reaping the benefits of some fantastic and well-deserved PR.

• Last year, 14 members of the Searcys team took part in a ‘Tour De Searcys’ bike ride, a 320-mile cycle across four days, starting from London and ending in the French town of Epernay. In total, the team raised and donated £22,257 for three charity partners: Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Adopt a School Trust, Hotel School and Just One Tree.
• JKS' Head of Beverage Seamus Sharkey, alongside three friends, raised £70,000 for Motor Neurone Disease charity My Name'5 Doddie Foundation by completing a 2,700km cycle from Edinburgh to Rome. During the month of March, guests at Brigadiers, Gymkhana, Trishna and BiBi supported the fundraising by adding £1 to every bill; together, JKS’ total contribution reached over £6,000. “Stay tuned for next year's fundraiser – the bar has been set pretty high!” says Seamus.
• Last year, Young’s partnered with Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby, setting a target to fundraise a collective £150,000 for local initiatives. These include Dogs for Good, Maddy’s Mark and Pass the Plate, amongst others. “Having smashed the target back in November, we finished the financial year having raised £200k!” says Sustainability Manager Aimee Macdonald. 
• Nando's has launched a new micro-grant programme to offer funding opportunities to charities. Co-funded by the manufacturer of Coca Cola, DTRT-y Cash (pronounced Dirty Cash) is a £150,000 programme designed to offer micro-grants of up to £500 to each charity to support specific community projects. “In everything we do, we always aim to do the right thing and help the communities in which we work in any way we can,” says Sam McCarthy, Head of Sustainability at Nando’s.
• Lavang raised just under £10,000 for charity in 2023. This year, they’re collecting money for Sheffield Churches Council for Community Care (SCCCC), a local voluntary organisation that provides a network of support for older people in Sheffield and their carers and families. 
• Restaurant Associates do an incredible amount of charity work with a variety of partners including The Felix Project, Foodinate, Fareshare, Refettorio Felix and The Outside Project. Initiatives include redirecting surplus food, donating a percentage of profits from particular products, volunteering, and designing a programme to teach vulnerable people nutrition and culinary skills, health and safety, barista and front-of-house skills, CV writing and interview skills.
• In Hong Kong, ANDŌ restaurant is now in its third year of partnership with MORE GOOD, a food charity that provides nutritious meals to communities in need by leveraging an extensive network of chefs and volunteers. On one Sunday each month, ANDŌ’s team – led by Co-Owner/Executive Chef Agustin Balbi and a new collaborating partner – crafts a nutritious meal box menu, with 160-200 boxes being distributed to communities in need.
• All year round but especially during Ramadan, the team at Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk works closely with the UAE Food Bank, distributing meals created from surplus food to labour workers.

Your community can become part of your team

Providing employment for local people is one way to serve your community while also benefiting your business.

• In collaboration with HEJ Coffee, Catch 22 and Off the Streets, Restaurant Associates’ kickstart traineeship is designed to give young people their first step into hospitality. Those who successfully complete the 10-week placement are given the opportunity to join Restaurant Associates via a barista apprenticeship. To date, over 12 people have successfully completed the course and been offered employment within the business.
• In 2023 alone, Searcys employed six students and graduates from Hotel School across its venues, with the funds raised from its ‘Tour De Searcys’ bike ride offering an opportunity for up to 14 students to receive training. 
• Lavang restaurant has employability programmes with The University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield College. “In fact, all of our staff members are from within a five-mile radius of the premises!”
• At The Bull Inn, all of the team members are local hires, including management. With local housing difficult to secure, the business even purchased a house last year for some of the team to rent.
• At Maisan15 Café, they take diversity and inclusion to heart, open to employing people with differences/disabilities (known in the UAE as People of Determination). This gives them purpose and the opportunity to contribute to society and gain more independence, confidence and joy.
• Fooditude’s longest-standing community partnership is with Highshore School, a nearby educational facility for students with complex mixed needs. Since 2013, about 26 work placement students have completed work placements in Fooditude kitchens, as drivers or front-of-house. “Over the years, we've actually hired three of those students into paid employment, and two of them are still with us. Being able to hire three people into paid employment might not sound that exciting, but for these students and their parents as well, it is a really big deal,” says Cristina. “We’re very proud of that.”

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