SOCIAL ECONOMY DRIVE AWARD WINNER | Birgit Kehrer
W-O-W, W-O-W, W-O-W !!!!!!!!
What a night 🧡💚
It started off with awesome catch ups and a rather lovely photo opp.... and ended with OVERALL CONTRIBUTION TO THE SOCIAL ECONOMY (INDIVIDUAL) award win for our very own Birgit Kehrer 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
We are so very proud of Birgit and utterly delighted to see her passion, hard work and utter determination to change food systems for the better fully recognised and valued.
Charles Rapson, Strategic Lead for Social Economy Growth at West Midlands Combined Authority, introduced Birgit’s award win with some wonderful warm words that are greatly appreciated,
“The winner of this category is someone who has proven her desire for social justice, and
making her customers happy, which I think is a great set of qualifications for a social
entrepreneur. She strongly believes that partnership working is the way forward; she went to
University in Sheffield, Bristol, and Augsburg, and has a BA, Masters, and PhD in Human
Geography” is clear and then it’s a bit unintelligible but along the lines of “and she settled in Birmingham and began her work…”
Team and kindness mean everything to Birgit, as we want to say a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Birgit for simply being incredible and inspiring so many people around her.
Birgit Kehrer said of her award,
“I am very pleased indeed to be receiving the prestigious Overall Contribution to the Social Economy Award. It is wonderful to have the work of the past 17 years recognised.
I started my social enterprise journey believing the world would be better if businesses measured success by more than profit. I have always held the triple bottom line of environment, social impact and financial sustainability as the truest path forward.
Connecting organisations, co-creating solutions and building communities has always been at the heart of my work. The Sustain UnConference is a perfect example. It brings together partners and 200 sustainability specialists across sectors. Moments like that remind me why we do this.”
Enjoy your well deserved #SED2025 Award Birgit 🏆
SUSTAIN UnCONFERENCE | Birgit leading on Food Security & Land Use
Have you booked your SUSTAIN - The Midlands' Sustainability UnConference place yet?!
🧡 We're shouting loud and proud as a Founding Partner of this unique West Midlands (un)conference. It’s a one-day working session for people solving real sustainability challenges. So, something we care deeply about.
💚 We're also delighted that our founder, Birgit Kehrer, will be leading an 'action, not applause' session on climate-friendly catering as part of the core theme around food security, food systems and land use. A topic that strongly showcases in all that we do here at ChangeKitchen CIC.
🔗 BE THE CHANGE | Book your place
📆 BLOCK YOUR CALENDER | Thursday 30th October 2025, 9am to 5pm
📍 LOCATION | University College Birmingham, B3
CHECK OUT OUR FRINGE EVENT…
NET ZERO TO FOOD HERO | Achieving your Net Zero goals while wearing your Wellbeing superhero cape!
Welcome to our SUSTAIN UnConference fringe event, Net Zero to Food Hero!
ChangeKitchen CIC is delighted to invite you to join us for ‘breakfast with a difference’ as we talk climate-friendly catering for corporates, public sector organisations and environmentally-led entrepreneurs.
Can catering ‘cook up change’ in the supply chain and for your staff teams?
Yes, it can!
🔗 JOIN THE SUPERHEROES HERE | Book your place
📆 BLOCK YOUR CALENDER | Friday 31st October 2025, 10.30am to 12 noon
📍 LOCATION | ChangeKitchen CIC Kindness Cafe at 196 Edward Rd, Balsall Heath, Birmingham B12 9LX.
We're catering the SUSTAIN Midlands UnConference 2025!
🎉Starting the week with a fabulous announcement lovely friends!
We are delighted to be the climate-friendly ‘caterers who care’ for this compelling (un)conference, hosted by SUSTAIN Midlands Sustainability UnConference 2025 🧡💚
After such a successful event last year, it's brilliant to see Bookings Are Open for the UnConference... and we can't wait!!
Sustain 2025 is a one-day sustainability UnConference built around action, not applause. No panels or gurus. No audience rows. Just 200+ people solving real problems, together.
YOU decide the agenda.
YOU pick the topics that matter.
YOU move the conversation forward.
📅 Thursday 30th October 2025
📌 University College Birmingham
🔗 Book tickets
We're finalists in SEUK Social Enterprise Awards 2025!!!
Hello from our Balsall Heath kitchen!!
We are SO excited and proud to be shortlisted for the Social Enterprise UK 'UK SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AWARDS 2025'... not once, BUT TWICE 😁
🧡 Prove It: Social Impact Award
💚 Environmental Social Enterprise of the Year
Congratulations to all those shortlisted... what incredible social enterprise organisations, all doing amazing, impactful work across the social economy and within their communities.
We can't wait to meet you all on Awards night but we are keeping our fingers crossed as we champion the West Midlands VCSE sector 🤞
Birgit Kehrer, on behalf of the whole ChangeKitchen CIC team
READ THE SHORTLIST ANNOUNCEMENT HERE
#cookingupchange #catererswhocare #kindnessmatters #awards #socialimpact #socialvalue #socialmobility #socialcapital #climatefriendly #environmentallyfriendly #climatechange #climateimpact #catering #KindnessCafe #volunteering #training #healthyeating #workshops #communitymatters
We're Recruiting! Kind Kitchen Manager wanted to join our friendly team.
Are you our new Kitchen Manager?
ChangeKitchen CIC is seeking an exceptional individual to join and manage our thriving kitchen team. Skills and experience required, yes, but kindness and compassion are equally essential to us.
We’re a small, friendly team so finding the right person is super important to us. Writing this, we also understand that starting a new role, in a new organisation, is a big change for you too. Our commitment is that we will work hard to make it an enjoyable process to apply, come along to meet us, and succeed in this position.
We really want you to grow with us, be able to contribute to the wider social business, and feel valued every day… even on the busy, deadline-driven days!
Interested?
Position: Kitchen Manager, reporting to the General Manager and the ChangeKitchen CIC CEO.
Working hours: 37.5 hours per week and made up of flexible working days dependent on the business needs and event bookings. This will mean you being able to work evenings and/or weekends when needed and by mutual agreement.
Location: Our main kitchen is based at Jericho, 196-198 Edward Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham, B12 9LX but you will be working on sites across the wider West Midlands dependent on event bookings. A full, clean driving licence will be helpful.
How to apply
Please provide a CV, and a carefully considered covering letter, telling us a little about yourself, why this role interests you, and what you feel you can bring to our kitchen team and social enterprise. Please know ChangeKitchen CIC is a fully inclusive employer.
Your applications should be sent by email to thomas.randa@changekitchen.co.uk .
APPLICATIONS Please ensure we receive your application no later than Sunday 24th August 2025, midnight. Please note that we will not accept any applications which do not contain a CV and covering letter.
INTERVIEWS Interviews are currently ongoing for this position. Please keep an eye out for an invitation to an interview, particularly in w/c Monday 25th August 2025.
START The sooner the better - we’re busier than ever so need you with us!
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
Celebrating with our Community
On Monday 9th June 2025 we had a birthday party which was just such a fabulous day for us, full of wonderful new memories!
Turning 15, we were grateful to spend the weekend surrounded by our community, our friends, our supporters and our partners… perhaps not the average teenage party!
For us, ChangeKitchen CIC has always been about more than one person, although I’m proud to be the founder. ChangeKitchen CIC has an ethos of social justice, kindness, good food… and good people.
Throughout our 15 years as a social enterprise, we’ve supported and encouraged people to believe in themselves, celebrate their uniqueness, and achieve more than they thought they could. We do it through food… a great conversation starter (excuse the pun!)!
Championing volunteering, providing work experience, delivering healthy eating workshops, recruiting people (not just their CV’s), nurturing and developing our team, creating new connections, being open to new opportunities – it all comes back to people.
Our food surplus collections happen because of people.
Our climate-friendly catered events happen because of people.
Our new product innovations happen because of people.
Our sustainability as a social enterprise is enabled, and happens, because of people.
My own approach is to take nothing for granted, treat every day with gratitude, and keep trying to be my best, while having to balance the books, share our social impact story, and sort late finishes and early starts!
The best part of my day is a wake-up coffee from our Kindness Café, planning new menus, our daily lunch with the whole team and celebrating their successes.
So, for everyone who has (and is) part of our social enterprise journey, sent messages, came to our community day, raised a glass at our evening celebration, and who filled our 15th birthday bash with happiness, energy and smiles… with deep appreciation, thank you.
Enjoy this quick capture of our community celebrations!
Birgit Kehrer
Founder, ChangeKitchen CIC
Engage for Funding: A Crowdfunding Special with Birgit Kehrer
We are delighted to be sharing our ‘Crowdfunding for Change’ journey, led by our founder Birgit Kehrer and alongside Bertie Herrtage.
Our thanks to Tony Carr and Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC) for the opportunity to ‘engage for funding’ while we continue to keep ‘cooking up change’.
Birgit has been invited to talk about our highly successful Crowdfunding campaign from last year when we raised over £80,000 to support free community meals and new sustainable services to further increase our social impact. Then The Crowdfunding Coach, Bertie Herrtage, will share how to approach Crowdfunding and some top tips for success.
Taking place on Monday 30th June 2025, 1pm to 2pm online, more information (and booking link) can be found here.
Proudly celebrating 15 years as a social enterprise, we are ‘caterers who care’ and with kindness baked in to all that we do!
Cooking Up Change at Clean Air Day evening reception
This Wednesday is Clean Air Day 2025
We are honoured to be the chosen caterers for the evening CLEAN AIR DAY Reception to be hosted at Midland Metropolitan University Hospital!
Cooking up change and providing tasty, global and climate-friendly catering for this event truly fits with our environmental values.
Join us at this inspiring evening celebration that will talk about how we can all take climate-action and how air pollution can be improved for our children, families and friends across the West Midlands!
We believe this event matters…
Poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK, causing 36,000 deaths each year in the UK. Air pollution is a public health crisis and requires a health sector approach. Long-term exposure to air pollution can cause chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as lung cancer, leading to reduced life expectancy.
Health matters: air pollution - GOV.UK
Tickets available - don't miss out!
Event details | Wednesday 16th June 2025, 6pm to 8pm at Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, Grove Lane Smethwick B66 2QT.
Reception hosts | Birmingham Healthy Air Coalition West Midlands Combined Authority Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust
Happy 15th Birthday to Us! 🥳
Yes, today we are celebrating 1️⃣5️⃣ years of cooking up community change... hooray!
Our social enterprise catering business started on this day back in 2010 but our journey of influencing change has been one of kindness.
And yes, catering is about food but for us ChangeKitchen CIC has always been about people.
People in our fabulous, diverse and vibrant community along with...
🧡 our staff team (past and present),
💚 our Board (we are so very grateful),
🧡 our volunteers (you are truly amazing),
💚 our partners (such as Jericho and FareShare Midlands among so many),
🧡 our funders (who support the VCFSE sector),
💚 our supporters (including Social Enterprise UK and West Midlands Combined Authority),
🧡 and our customers... corporate organisations, Kindness Cafe customers, venues, market organisers, local businesses and every one of our social media followers (yes, YOU).
Special mentions have to go out to Tony Colville and Jo Burrill as our longest serving Board members, Richard Beard and Katie Webb of Jericho for being amazing, and Peter Holbrook CBE who always believed(s) in what we are all about and the change we are so passionate about creating.... to change food insecurity and enable food justice for all.
Do you have a special memory of ChangeKitchen CIC?
📸
We'd love to hear your stories of ChangeKitchen CIC over the last 15 years!
Please share your memories as a comment, post your photos to us, or tag us for a birthday re-post.
To everyone who has been part of our social enterprise journey of the last 15 years... THANK YOU!
With deep gratitude and great excitement as we look ahead to the next 15 years,
Birgit Kehrer
ChangeKitchen CIC - Mental Health Awareness Week
‘Being part of a safe, positive community is vital for our mental health and wellbeing’ - bIRGIT kEHRER
That is what our CEO Birgit Kehrer said about mental health.
Mental Health is important in today’s climate especially in hospitality and catering where things can get intense. At ChangeKitchen CIC we acknowledge this. According to a recent study by Hospitality Action, 68% of hospitality professionals have faced mental health challenges.
At ChangeKitchen we want to create an environment where people can thrive and excel. We do this by making sure people feel safe in the environment they work in, by creating a space to focus, and do their best work, between their busy and multifaceted lives, and by giving the flexibility our employees deserve, ensuring that they are valued and respected.
Tommy our General Manager says this:
‘As the General Manager at ChangeKitchen, it is really important to me, and key to the social impact we strive to create, that our staff come to work feeling safe, valued, and ready to work in an environment that respects them and meets them where they are at in their lives. Our diverse team comes from all walks of life, and I am personally struck by the motivation, energy and good vibes they bring to our kitchen each day, despite significant challenges in their personal lives and on their mental health. Over 7 years, I have heard from many of our staff that we are that safe place in their lives where they can experience dignity, compassion, and reward at the end of a day’s work, and have seen the difference this can make to overall mental health. I am proud to recognise this work that we do on Mental Health Awareness Week, and I very much look forward to continuing it.’
ChangeKitchen itself is a community with people from diverse backgrounds. Our team are here for each other day in day out by lifting each other up when times get tough which allows our team to thrive not only in the workplace but outside too.
Our CEO Birgit Kehrer talks about the importance of community and how it has helped her mental health just below:
Birgit reading a book, Sakeena and Martha speaking to eachother, Birgit with Andrea and Fran (From left to right)
Mental Health is important whenever and wherever you are.
Take care of yourself from Birgit, Tommy and the rest of the ChangeKitchen team!
#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek2025 #cookingupchange #catererswhocare #socent #LoveYourPlanet
ChangeKitchen CIC - climate-friendly baked in!
We are proudly celebrating world EARTHDAY.ORG on Tuesday 22nd April 2025.
WHY?
Because ChangeKitchenCIC has ‘climate-friendly’ baked into our social enterprise DNA.
SO LET’S UNPACK THAT A BIT MORE…
This years #EarthDay2025 theme is based around renewable energy, something we’re passionate about!
When we expanded our kitchen in 2022/23, we instinctively incorporated the most energy efficient equipment we could afford, and designed the kitchen in the most energy efficient way we could. That also meant installing an air heat pump for our hot water and heating in the #KindnessCafe, and more recently solar panels were added to our building that will mean that during our most busy times in summer, we will be getting up to 100% of our electricity from the sun.
Did you know…
ChangeKitchen CIC was awarded Green Restaurant of the Year by Birmingham City Council the last time it was given in 2012. It demonstrated then, as now, that we are totally committed to both social and environmental impact across our social enterprise. We are, and have always been, fully vegetarian and deliver a lot of vegan food as one way of cutting our carbon footprint.
We believe we are the only fully climate-friendly caterer in the Midlands, certainly the only one that is also a social enterprise (giving back to the community) and have very nearly 15 years positive track record.
Embedded environmental efficacy…
We recycle as much waste as we can.
We compost any peelings and and food waste using Bokashi composting in partnership with Compost Connection CIC.
We save 50-100 tonnes of surplus food from landfill per year.
We use surplus food to cook nutritious meals for people in need every week.
We have provided c.90,000 community meals since March 2020 and still supplying 200-400 meals per week.
We host ‘slow cooking’ classes to reduce fossil fuel consumption.
We avoid single use plastic wherever possible.
We use proper crockery and cutlery for our catered events whenever possible.
Exciting news!
ChangeKitchen CIC has now started the journey to becoming a B Lab UK #BCorp in order to demonstrate better what we do already and as a way to see where we can improve.
So, this Earth Day, here are top 3 Climate Hero tips…
Understand the difference between ‘Use by’ and ‘Best before’ dates on your food items to reduce food waste.
Be inspired by vegetarian and vegan recipes to reduce your meat and dairy consumption and reduce your carbon footprint.
Go shopping with your own bags and buy fruit and vegetables loose - perhaps try ‘buying local’ from a farmers market to reduce road miles and pollution too!
We can all take small actions that can make big impacts!
Birgit Kehrer, Tommy and our #ClimateHero team - striving to be better everyday #OurPowerOurPlanet
#cookingupchange #catererswhocare #socent #LoveYourPlanet #DoMoreGood
Social Value Summit - creating sustainable social value
Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of attending the Social Enterprise UK Social Value Leaders Summit – a trip to London ensued, and a lot of great networking across the social economy sector.
But, more than that…
Sometimes it’s good, and needed, to look beyond our own regional borders and take time to think and talk strategically.
As CEO of a highly sustainable social enterprise that’s always been passionately ‘Brummie-based’, it can feel a bit distant looking over the fence at ‘the big city’. However, this trip was really timely and super inspiring!
The keynote was delivered by Gareth Rhy-Williams, the Chair of National Highways, and former UK Government Chief Commercial Officer, who set out what the new Procurement Act will mean for social value.
“We all know that growth comes disproportionately from SMEs (and VCFSEs by implication).”
My reflection here was how good it felt to be recognised as a sector. He also made a strong point about encouraging pre-market and pre-procurement engagement of VCFSEs by commissioners and corporates trying to bring VCFSEs into their supply chain. Yes!
We then heard from Minister Georgia Gould MP for a fireside chat about how social enterprises can help deliver mission-driven procurement. Within the fireside chat, she stressed that public sector and large organisations bidding for work with them should engage a lot more with social enterprises.
“SMEs, and by default VCFSEs, help innovation and positive social impact.”
My thoughts here are that the procurement process, led by the commissioners of services, needs to look at contracts being managed as smaller lots to make them accessible to the market. This would allow for delivery of ‘best practice’ localised services that have innovation at their heart and are people-centred. So, less red tape and more community-focused, transformational solutions.
What energised me about attending this years Social Value Summit was the people.
I met up with long-standing social economy friends, and of course it’s always great to see Peter Holbrook CBE, CEO of Social Enterprise UK! Also, the number of new connections and corporates, all excited to be engaging with the social value conversation, was fantastic.
More than that, here at ChangeKitchen CIC we are starting the next phase of innovation and sustainability as a result of the Crowdfunding for Change campaign we ran last September. We are launching our ‘Ready Meals for Good’ range at the NEC The Workplace Event next week as one of only 10 social enterprises to exhibit.
Every ‘Ready Meal for Good’ purchased helps extend our social value by providing a free community meal to someone experiencing food insecurity... So, to all those who wanted to hear more - thank you!
The VCFSE sector is superbly placed to deliver real change across society and the economy – and ChangeKitchen CIC is ready to play its part!
Birgit Kehrer
Proud CEO of ChangeKitchen CIC – a social enterprise that’s cooking up change for good.
BBC Good Food magazine says it, so it must be true!
We are so very excited and delighted to be featured in BBC GoodFood magazine in the 'just out' April issue!! We are acclaimed Climate Heroes!!
Check out Climate Heroes p.126 in the planet-friendly section and read all about how Birgit and our team, are tackling food waste, one colourful dish at a time.
Birgit says, “I started and continue to run ChangeKitchen CIC because I wanted to work for more than profit. Ensuring we contribute towards positive social and environmental impact combines the beliefs I have held dear since my teens: social and climate justice.
With continued ambition to drive change around the food justice eco-system across Birmingham, ChangeKitchen CIC is striving to innovate in many ways this year.
Launching new products, constantly improving services, releasing new Menus for 2025, recruiting exceptional talent to build the team supporting further growth, and looking at just how green a Climate Hero can actually be (very green as it turns out!).
Out shopping this week... Grab your April BBC Good Food edition and drop it in your trolley lovely friends!
Equality belongs to no one person. Collaboration is key to change.
Thanks Monica, one of our fabulous globally-inclusive ChangeKitchen CIC team - great pic!
As we approach 8th March, International Women’s Day, I’m reflecting on the role of women across both society and entrepreneurship.
International Women's Day (IWD) has been around for over a hundred years, as have many of the issues still impacting women's advancement today. I’m proud to say that ChangeKitchenCIC has been around for 15 of those years.
In that time, ChangeKitchen CIC has always been led by a woman (yes, me!), provided positive opportunities in the workplace for women (often those from disadvantaged backgrounds) and created local ‘community action’ based on equity, inclusion, diversity, and kindness.
But we cannot create lasting, sustainable change on our own. Collaboration is absolutely key to advancing gender equality.
GloriaSteinem, world-renowned feminist, journalist and activist once explained, "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist, nor to any one organisation, but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."
Food and cooking, across all cultures, brings people together.
Sharing food is often a conduit for conversation, exploring cultural beliefs, breaking gender barriers, and making people feel included. We’re particularly delighted to be asked to provide food and refreshments at the first-ever International Women’s Day Conference being organised by Enjoy Kings Heath at Queensbridge School this weekend!
That’s powerful. That’s when good things really happen – at a micro-level for individuals but also in a collective, ‘big picture’ way.
Within the ChangeKitchen CIC team, I’m gratefully supported and inspired by wonderful people such as Thomas Randa (Operations Manager here at ChangeKitchen CIC) and Richard Beard (CEO of Jericho). It’s by being fully inclusive of gender, race, ethnicity, belief, and opinions that we can truly accelerate action and amplify our voice in the gender conversation…
Yes, there are still barriers to gender equality to overcome.
Yes, equity for all is a huge part of our social mission.
Yes, we celebrate every step, every impact, every advancement.
So, to everyone who is part of our ChangeKitchen CIC social enterprise journey, for all those with diverse experiences and backgrounds, we have three golden threads to offer…
Treat people with kindness.
Respect each other’s views.
Do a little more good each day.
Always with joy and positivity, let’s #AccelerateAction together!
Birgit Kehrer and with gratitude to the whole, wonderfully diverse, and inclusive ChangeKitchen CIC team!
We're growing, so we're recruiting! Are you our new Project Manager?
ChangeKitchen CIC is growing, so we’re recruiting for an exciting new Project Manager role to join our thriving social enterprise team and lead a new project for 2025!
Read MoreChangeKitchen CIC is Crowdfunding for Change in our City
ChangeKitchen CIC is a social enterprise based in Balsall Heath that is passionate about food justice in our city, and has launched a September crowdfunding campaign to create positive change in the local community.
Read MoreHow two social enterprises joined forces to create a complete ethical events package
Click through to read about our partnership with fellow social enterprise, Jubilee Events, and the stunning Meynell Langley Hall to serve up delicious vegetarian and vegan food!