Homelessness has risen in recent years with the high cost of living. The country is also still reeling from the 2008 financial crisis. The last few years has seen a number of charities rise up to tackle this growing problem of homelessness. One of which is Social Bite – a small Scottish chain of cafés with branches in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Passing by any premises makes it look like any normal café. Yet Social Bite is a homeless social sandwich shop and it’s great work has just received a £550,000 from the National Lottery.
About Social Bite – The Homeless Social Sandwich Shop
The homeless social sandwich shop works on a simple premise. It provides work opportunities for the homeless, with each store employing a minimum 25% homeless people. Not only can you sample coffee and sandwiches for yourself, you can “donate” by paying for food and order later collection that any homeless person can claim. 100% of the profits go into their homeless charity Social Bite Academy which will support this business model. Part of the money will permit the businesses to stay open with longer trading hours. As far as the charity is concerned, it is not just about providing employment. There is a strong focus on social skills to help homeless and providing opportunities, if not with Social Bite, with their partner companies.
The homeless social sandwich shop reached world fame in 2015 when George Clooney visited a branch to raise awareness. It was part of his tour to raise funds for refugees fleeing the Middle East. The Duchess of Cornwall visited in summer 2016 too. Next, they hope to welcome another Hollywood star in the form of Leonardo Di Caprio – star of The Wolf of Wall Street, Shutter Island and Inception. The charity chain has further plans to expand across Scotland with more stores planned for Dundee and later, even further afield.