Australia’s first social enterprise bakery is raising much-needed funds to support future training programs with a crowdfunding campaign that offers the opportunity to experience baking like a refugee trainee, with breads inspired by different cultures from around the world.

With the lingering social, economic and health effects of COVID-19 being felt across the country, many Australians are looking for ways to stay connected with each other, while also doing their part to help those who have been significantly impacted by the pandemic.

With this in mind, Australia’s first social enterprise bakery, The Bread & Butter Project, has revealed an innovative approach the organisation hopes will help restore and grow personal connections in the community and the workplace.

The Bread & Butter Project’s three-week ‘Bake for a Baker’ crowdfunding campaign, commencing on February 28, 2022, will not only help fund the bakery’s next cohort of trainee bakers, but will also encourage people to bond over the simple act of baking bread.

The social and financial outcomes of this campaign are especially important for an organisation that has community at its heart, and which has a focus on providing training and employment pathways in the baking industry for people seeking refuge and asylum.

Since June 2021, The Bread & Butter Project has suffered a 40 per cent drop in wholesale café and restaurant sales, seriously impacting the viability of future trainee programs – something which has taken on even greater significance since the onset of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, with the bakery’s future trainee intakes expected to include Afghan refugees.

Now, through ‘Bake for a Baker’, The Bread & Butter Project is hoping to raise important funds to support a program that provides TAFE-certified accreditation, essential English language skills and employment to refugees, many of whom often struggle to find jobs after arriving in Australia.

The campaign will see individuals and businesses across the country, including major Australian brands such as Westpac and Canva, don their aprons like the trainee bakers at The Bread & Butter Project, as they come together in teams to collaborate over the shared challenge of baking breads from around the world.

Participants will form teams of five, and once they reach a minimum collective fundraising target of $250 ($50 per team member), they will be eligible to receive exclusive bread recipes and serving suggestions from The Bread & Butter Project, inspired by the cultures of refugee trainees working in the bakery.

This will create a much-needed connection between people working from home, or families and friends separated by the pandemic, with participants posting their successes (and failures) on Instagram using the hashtag #bakeforabaker and tagging @thebreadandbutterproject.

At the conclusion of the campaign, the top three fundraising teams will be invited to a special online Graduation Gala, hosted by highly respected food critic Terry Durack from the Sydney Morning Herald, where they can showcase their creations and “graduate” just like one of The Bread & Butter Project’s refugee trainees.

In addition, the top fundraising team will receive an exclusive pastry making masterclass with celebrity chef Peter Gilmore, Executive Chef of the famed Quay and Bennelong restaurants in Sydney, and his highly skilled pastry chef, Rhiann Mead, for their team members and up to five friends or colleagues.

According to The Bread & Butter Project’s CEO, Peter Boyd, the crowdfunding campaign is a unique opportunity to experience life as a baker while supporting the raising of much-needed funds for the program.

“We’re excited to launch this unique campaign, which allows people to step into the shoes of our refugee trainees and experience the process of learning how to bake bread,” said Mr Boyd.

“We hope that everyone participating in Bake for a Baker will get a small glimpse into the wonderful cultures of our refugee trainees, where bread is such an important element in building community, and for this reason we will be encouraging participants to share their bread creations with their family, friends and colleagues.

“At the same time, the campaign will provide a great way for corporates and businesses to re-establish community and connection amongst their teams while working from home, especially as they navigate the realities of pandemic-affected workplaces.

“Most importantly, the campaign will help The Bread & Butter Project raise the funds we need for future cohorts of refugee trainees – and particularly those escaping the crisis in Afghanistan – so they can establish fulfilling careers as Australia’s next generation of bakers.”

To find out more about the ‘Bake for a Baker’ campaign, or to sign up, please visit bakeforabaker.raisely.com.