Today at the Swan Kitchens, Back on Track’s café, you could have eaten their British Food Week meal of the day: a tasty chicken tikka masala made by Shafiq and served in the picture below by Danny, a service user and Swan Kitchens volunteer.
Danny said: “Volunteering in the café has given me a purpose in life. I’ve got all kinds of new skills, including how to make vegan and gluten free cakes. We sell them in the café and from the tea trolley that goes around Swan Buildings. In the future I’m planning to start my own business with a food stall at markets and festivals.”
The primary goal of the Swan Kitchens café and catering business is to provide a supportive training environment for service users and volunteers. The café and catering functions are staffed primarily by volunteers and service users, most of whom are rebuilding their lives after overcoming problems with homelessness, substance misuse, mental health and/or homelessness. Through Swan Kitchens, Back on Track can provide real work experience opportunities that give people a second chance to explore a career in catering and plan for a great future. Back on Track supports around 1,000 people each year with around 50 visiting the centre daily for all kinds of training and support. Of 25 service users recently involved with the Swan Kitchens, six have gone on to other kinds of volunteering, seven in to further training and eight people, one third of the total, have secured paid work.
Back on Track is a Manchester charity that enables disadvantaged adults to make lasting, positive changes in their lives. Formed in 1977, today they run a learning centre in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. They work with adults who are going through a process of recovery or rehabilitation, having been through problems with alcohol or drugs, offending, homelessness and mental health. Back on Track’s projects enable people to build the skills they need to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives. Swan Kitchens has been operating since December 2015 providing a socially supportive environment and low-cost nutritious food and drink for centre users as well as corporate catering for organisations using Macc’s training rooms in Swan Buildings.