Member Spotlight: Grounded MCR

Grounded MCR have been stirring up a community-first pot of coffee with their mobile social enterprise unit across Manchester and beyond.

Their aim is to provide opportunities in hospitality and barista skills to vulnerable adults and employ those who are or have been struggling with anxiety – we spoke with them to find out more.

How would you describe the mission of the business in a nutshell?
Grounded MCR CIC is a social enterprise serving specialty coffee, hot and cold drinks and locally sourced treats from a bespoke trike. We employ vulnerable adults with poor mental health, training them in barista/hospitality skills. We support local bakers; buy our coffee from a local roastery who pay farmers properly, and offer local makers/crafters opportunities to grow their own businesses via our platforms.

With the motto ‘Your brew helps others too’ how does Grounded create positive social impact?
Kerry and I (founders) have both suffered with very poor mental health, which puts us in a unique position to make our business model work. Redundancy, adopting a child and Covid gave us an opportunity to start Grounded MCR, in the hope that it would allow us to use our skills to help improve ours and our employees’ mental health. Our key focus is helping our staff and community’s collective mental health, via free activities and events.

We’ve created multiple free community events, from dog shows to sports days; yoga in the trees to sauna in a wood fired horsebox; music therapy to walks with alpacas around the park and everything in-between. We’ve run reiki and yoga, offered postnatal walks with mental health mates, and provided BollyFit classes for locals. We try to provide free or low cost events which means no one feels that money excludes them from attending.

Do you think there’s still unfair stigma around anxiety in the workplace?
Absolutely! Our plan moving forward, is to help other hospitality-focused business owners consider employing people they may have overlooked previously, due to poor mental health and/or SEN. For example if someone has a special interest in grinding coffee/steaming milk, but struggles to engage with customers, we find ways to make this the sole focus of their role and we’d like to help other employers do that too. There is room for everyone in the workplace, but being adaptable is not the norm yet and we need employers to understand that there is a way to be inclusive.

What in your opinion could be done to help reduce or combat anxiety in society?
We live in a fast-paced world, which just seems to become more of a rollercoaster as every year goes by. Perhaps people need to put less emphasis on earning a large salary, and do a job that makes them more content. We don’t all need to be happy all the time, but we do need to reach an equilibrium – acceptance that anxiety has its place in life, but there are ways to live/work with it.

We’ve found working outside, amongst greenery and having regular IRL conversations with people, unbelievably helpful for our own mental health and that of our employees. Our conclusion is to ensure making more time in our day for nature, is a non negotiable. Coffee, conversation and connection!

How important is it to be able to offer pathways into employment for people?
It is the backbone of our business – and our reason for being. We have two young children with SEN who will need understanding employers in the future, and so we need to start their future, now.

What do you find most challenging about running the business?
Having a million ideas, and the inability to implement them all! Also the last few years have decimated the hospitality industry – between Brexit, Covid and the cost of living crisis so we live hand to mouth each month, but we love a challenge!

And what do you find most rewarding about it?
Seeing any of the people we’ve trained, begin to come out of their shell and thrive

Tell us about your future plans?
We are currently renovating a 40-foot shipping container café, turning it into a community café and event space, with a barista training area for vulnerable adults. We’ve got big plans – the new space will give us room to train additional vulnerable adults such as ex-offenders, create a mini allotment and gardening club, have space for sports/activities clubs to meet, support/peer-to-peer groups to hang out, an area for local makers to display their wares plus a small zero waste shop in the future.

The café menu will consist of dishes created from rescued food, destined for landfill, which will help keep prices down and ensure inclusivity for those on low income.We will continue to provide free, activity-focused and educational events in our local park – to benefit the diverse community.

Find out more about Grounded MCR here and follow their journey here.