How The Bread and Butter Project inspired Canva Space to "do more"

For more than seven years, The Bread & Butter Project has been a source of inspiration for Canva Space, the social-impact café located within Canva’s Surry Hills campus.

In a conversation with Executive Chef Mark Hanover, it became clear how the Bread and Butter Project has not just been a partner and supplier, but an inspiration for Canva Space.  

“We’ve been working with the Bread and Butter Project now for quite a number of years, maybe seven, maybe more years,” Mark explains.

“As a social enterprise, it's one of the most successful in terms of the volume they put out.   The story behind it is powerful: training refugees and helping them get back into the workforce."

"They’ve inspired us to do more.”

The Bread & Butter Project: more than just baking

Founded in Sydney, The Bread & Butter Project is Australia’s first social enterprise bakery. It reinvests 100% of its profits into training and employing refugees and people seeking asylum. Their model combines accredited learning, hands-on bakery experience and pathways to long-term employment.

This focus on empowerment through skill-building has been a defining influence on how Canva Space operates. 

The vision behind Canva Space

Canva, the Australian-founded global design platform, is known for its mission to make design accessible to everyone. But inside the company’s Sydney campus is Canva Space, a hybrid cafe and community venue that focuses on social impact.

While not formally structured as a social enterprise, Canva Space operates with the intent of giving back to the community.

“While we’re not an official social enterprise because we’re part of Canva, we’re still a social-impact cafe and we’re focused on generating revenue so we can expand the good we do," says Mark. 

Canva Space does this by operating as a  cafe by day, and by night, transforming into free event space for registered charities. This means that nonprofits have a space to connect, inspire, and collaborate - all for free.

How Bread & Butter inspired Canva Space’s training model

Mark describes how exposure to the Bread & Butter Project further encouraged Canva Space’s own training pathway for people entering hospitality.

An example is the student program run in collaboration with Oz Harvest Nourish. 

“Oz Harvest run a student program where they have younger people who are trying to get into hospitality. They get their Level Two Basic Certificate, and then they come to Canva Space for work experience."

“They do one day a week, and they get to work in country kitchens to get a bit of training and then they move on to another job. It's a bit of a stepping stone.”

The intent is to remove barriers, create opportunity, and give people their first foothold in the industry. “These things are inspired by working with people like the Bread and Butter Project," says Mark. 

A partnership built on shared purpose 

Mark highlights that Canva Space and The Bread & Butter Project have not only collaborated operationally, but support each other in other ways as well. 

“We work closely together. We host their graduation every year, and it’s something we’ve been doing for many years.”

Happy occasions like this reflect the two organisations' shared belief in providing opportunities and meaningful work.

“It’s a wonderful initiative, and we hope they keep going, keep improving, building, growing, and inspiring other businesses like they've inspired ours.”

Ordermentum proudly had proudly supported and facilitated the partnership between the Bread and Butter Project and Canva Space since the beginning. 

Read more about The Bread and Butter Project & their growth trajectory here.