Alex Head, founder of Social Pantry, and former employee Ruben (Social Pantry)
When I attended the Wilderness Festival in Oxford on Thursday afternoon, I was surrounded by bejeweled revelry with the most tasteful accents I've ever heard. Mary Berry and Sophie Ellis-Bextor can be seen in the VIP area of the Veuve Clicquot tent. Yummy moms and dads pamper their kids with organic fruit ice cream. Sip a £12.50 Patron Tequila cocktail and think it must be the most luxurious place you've ever set foot. But aside from the festival's overwhelming hype, the most improbable debate ensues: What is prison? How do you eat? The question comes from a panel led by Alex Head, founder of Social Pantry, a London caterer that provides reintegration opportunities for ex-offenders. She was joined by her Lucy Vincent of Food Behind Bars, a charity working to improve prison nutrition, and former criminal and Banged Up podcast co-host Rob Morrison. While Morrison is in prison, he hears him talking about how bad the food was. How "hungry" many men were. Vincent, meanwhile, outlines the challenges of developing nutritious menus for hundreds of prisoners on a tight budget. The head recognizes the elephant in the room. "I can't believe I'm here at Wilderness Festival talking about prison food and prisoners," she says. "That's enough talk."
While the conversation has certainly evolved for the better, those coming out of prison still face hurdle after hurdle, and one of her biggest challenges for an ex-offender is employment. According to official government statistics, only 17% of ex-offenders were able to find a job within a year of their release. Hiring ex-offenders is viewed largely positively. According to the Ministry of Justice, 81% of British citizens believe that companies that employ ex-offenders contribute positively to society. 86% of employers of ex-offenders rate ex-offenders doing well. By enabling ex-offenders to work legally, they are less likely to reoffend and are less likely to end up in prison again. Social Pantry's goal is to create meaningful impact through food and drink. The company was founded by his head in 2011 and has provided products to Rihanna, David his Attenborough, Hillary Clinton and others. It's no exaggeration to say that Head has high standards for his work at Social Pantry.
Head says her passion is giving ex-offenders a "clean slate" when they get out of prison. "But ultimately it's about giving them a chance when they're released," she explained when we met during the festival. There you go, crimes don't have sentences, and if they make time, it's a blank slate in our eyes. "It's to make sure they don't go back to prison again. If they don't have a job, an apartment, or a family, they're 100% going back. With at least some of those things, they're less likely to [relapse]." Give them a family when they come out, give them a chance - they can throw it away if they want.But it's important to me to give it to them."
Prior to founding Social Pantry, the award-winning Irishman trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School and worked at London's two-Michelin-starred restaurant Bibendum. She speaks with the excitement of someone just getting started, rather than someone who's been in action for over a decade. “She is often asked why [hire an ex-offender],” she says. "I couldn't find an answer other than why? Why not hire them?"
It seems like an easy question, but some big companies seem to avoid it. Head says he often approaches such companies with the statement, "If I can do this in a small company and a small HR department, you can too." , she says. It has to come from above and that's the hard part. "We need people at the top who say, 'Listen, this is what we do,'" she explains. I'm sure you will be inspired to give them the opportunity. They have it in the infrastructure to make it as successful as possible. But convincing them can be difficult. ”
A Few of the Foods Made by the Social Pantry (Social Pantry)
"There was a guy who was in prison longer than Chef Sarah [Turner] was alive," she says. We have to respect it.” And there are young people who are perfectly adaptable and brilliant. We are notorious for not screaming in the kitchen, which is very upbringing, but [some ex-offenders] struggle with something when they come out, so it's a very quiet environment. We are trying to do everything we can to make the system truly successful. ”
#food #london #success #socialpantry
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