Who we are
A for-more-than-profit social business using great food to create training and jobs for people who have been homeless, marginalised or vulnerable.
The Create Foundation started in 2007 in an unlikely place: the kitchen of a night shelter in Leeds.
What began as cooking meals together grew into something bigger: a catering business with a social purpose. The people who came through that kitchen did not just need a meal. They needed skills, confidence, a routine and, above all, a real chance at work.
Today we are an independent Community Interest Company (CIC). We run event management, contract and outside catering, and a city-centre restaurant. The income from that work funds the Create Academy, our training programme for people who have been homeless, marginalised or vulnerable.
Our mission
To provide training and jobs for people who are homeless, marginalised or vulnerable, funded by a sustainable business that serves great food to customers who care where their money goes.
Why a CIC?
We chose to become a CIC limited by shares because it lets us attract social investment while legally protecting our purpose. Our assets and profits are locked in for community benefit, so all profit is reinvested in the CIC. That investment helped us open our flagship restaurant in central Leeds, which is now a key training ground for the Academy.
Where we're heading
Our ambition is to open a Create restaurant in each of our four cities, becoming a well-known high-street name where every meal served helps someone take a step towards work.
Our values
What we stand for
Dignity first
Everyone who walks through our door is treated as a colleague, not a case. We focus on strengths, not labels.
Real work, real skills
Training happens in working kitchens, cafés and events, with professional chefs and real customers.
For more than profit
We run a proper business so that the impact lasts. Every penny of profit is reinvested in the mission.
In it for the long run
Mentoring continues after training, through interviews, first pay days and the wobbles in between.
Our story
From one kitchen to four cities
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2007
A kitchen in a night shelter
Create begins in a night shelter kitchen in Leeds, cooking meals with and for people experiencing homelessness.
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Growing
From kitchen to catering company
Word spreads. Event and contract catering orders grow, and the income starts to fund structured training.
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CIC
A business built for impact
We become a Community Interest Company limited by shares, so we can attract social investment while locking in our mission.
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Academy
The Create Academy launches
Training becomes a full programme with qualifications, placements and mentoring, supporting 100+ people a year.
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Today
Four cities and a flagship restaurant
With hubs in Leeds, Doncaster, Sunderland and Manchester, and a flagship restaurant in central Leeds.
How we're run
Governance
The Create Foundation is overseen by a board of directors with experience in hospitality, social enterprise, finance and homelessness services. Each year we publish a community interest report setting out how our activities have benefited the community.
Our trainees and graduates help shape what we do through regular feedback sessions, and a graduate representative sits on our programme advisory group.
Join the journey
Whether you want to train with us, hire with us or eat with us, there's a place for you at Create.
