Hello everyone,

Thank you for your patience and support in the last months

It’s been a turbulent few months for Loaf, and we wanted to share an update on where things stand at the moment.

As many of you know, we left our previous home in February after giving our six months notice on our lease in preparation for moving into our new space at the Stirchley Co-operative Development - a project we’ve been part of shaping for over a decade alongside local residents and fellow co-ops.

Since then, things haven’t gone to plan.

Delays to construction (and, more recently, challenges around the future ownership of the building) have left the whole project in a tricky position. There was even a period where it put the future of the development, the homes and the three businesses within it, at real risk.

The good news is that conversations between SCD and GSA are underway, with support from Birmingham City Council and the wider community. We are cautiously optimistic that a resolution is within reach, but we are still waiting (and chasing) for reliable information when we can move in.

Right now, we’re hoping to move into our new home in June. In the meantime, we’ve been keeping Loaf alive through pop-ups and market appearances, something that would not have been possible without other independent businesses offering us a much needed helping hand! This includes Steamhouse Bakery in Redditch for allowing us to use a corner of their bakery each week, Birmingham Artisan Markets for giving us a stall free of charge at the markets in Stirchley, Kings Heath, Jewellery Quarter and Bournville and the incredible Verbena Kitchen, Anosh and Deadbeat for giving us a space to sell from. 

We were also grateful to receive a £15,000 grant from Solidfund - a member-led organisation dedicated to supporting workers in controlling and collectively owning their own work. By pooling regular and one-off contributions from supporters, Solidfund are doing something practical about worker cooperators’ lack of access to mainstream money and support, and without their help we hate to think where Loaf would be!

We can’t overstate this enough - your support has carried us through. Whether you donated to our crowdfunder, came to a pop-up, or just kept showing up for bread each week - thank you! It has made a real difference to the Loaf team and has enabled us to weather this extremely unpredictable storm. 

We’re not quite there yet (frustratingly) but we hope we are close! We’re hopeful that we’ll soon be welcoming you into our new, permanent home which will have a bigger bakery and a proper space dedicated to our cookery school. Until then, come and find us at the markets, follow our newsletter and Instagram for updates, and keep spreading the word of our pop-ups.

With all our love & gratitude,

The Loaf Team

Volunteer with Kings Heath Community Centre!
I (Dorit) bumped into Maisie last week. She and her mom Jane founded 2023 a beautiful independent second-hand bookshop I like to visit when I am in Kings Heath. It’s called The Book Tower and it’s aim is keeping reading sustainable, accessible and affordable. We were catching up about the beautiful community we are both lucky to live in and what a difference this makes for the quality of our life.

Recently Maisie took over the coordination of the volunteers for the Kings Heath Community Center and she told me that they are still looking for some volunteers to join the team… So here we go… /

Are you looking for ways to get more involved in the local community? It’s a great opportunity to meet new people and help develop the new exciting community hub.

They are currently recruiting evening and weekend volunteers to help welcome centre users, respond to enquiries and support the smooth running of events. There may also be opportunities to get involved with some of their regular community events throughout the year or maybe you could become a volunteer to help with their social media and marketing?

The goal for Kings Heath Community Center is to be a thriving hub of activity, creativity, and connection. It’s a space that’s accessible, inclusive, and used by local groups, residents, businesses and visitors.

Whether you can spare a few hours now and then or would like to commit to something more regular, your support could make a
real difference to the centre and the local community.
To find out more drop an email to volunteering@kingsheathcommunitycentre.co.uk

Littler Reminder

Tomorrow Loaf will be with a stall at the Birmingham Artisan Market at the Bournville Green - Sunday 17th May from 11-3pm!

Opening Times for Next Week: _{^{(@ 1473-1475 Pershore Road, Birmingham B30 2NT)}}

🟢 Wednesday 20th May 12-3pm

🟢 Thursday 21st May 12-3pm

🟢 Friday 22nd May 12-3pm

🟢 Saturday 23rd May 11am-3pm

Lunch Menu for Next Week:

Wednesday:

🔸 Tarka Daal w/ Sourdough (Ve)

Thursday:

🔸Sandwich: Baba ghanoush, cucumber, red reddish and pickled onions on ras el hanout Focaccia (Ve)

Friday:

🔸 Sandwich: Roast squash hummus, cabbage and carrot slaw & herb salad on Focaccia (Ve)

If you would like us to save you a lunch please send an email to info@loaf.coop until 11am on the day before!

Pre-order Info

➡️ Click HERE to pre-order bread and buns for Wednesday till Saturday. If you don’t want to pre-order that’s alright, we always have more to sell, but we try not to let anything go to waste, so pre-orders are very helpful.

➡️ Cut-off time for all pre-orders is 11am on the day before pick up!

Thanks so much to STEAMHOUSE for their continued support in letting us use a corner of their bakery in Redditch - we honestly do not know what we would have done without their generosity.

💛 💛 💛

Thanks & see you soon!

Team Loaf

Dave, Dorit, Molly, Michael, Kate, Fliss, Neil, Mina, Rach & Pete

👉 Support the crowdfunder here

Website: loaf.coop

Updates on: Instagram

Review us on: Google | Tripadvisor