Daily Bread Northampton
Daily Bread Co-operative in Northampton was registered as a co-operative business in 1975 and only started trading five years’ later once suitable premises and funding had been found.
Daily Bread Northampton is located in the Old Laundry in the grounds of St Andrew’s Hospital Northampton, in a shared site with MIND’s Workbridge project. Working capital for the business was provided by an interest-free loan from Commonwork Enterprises. Uniquely, the lenders recognised work equity as security on the loan. The loan was repaid within two and a half years, during which time the numbers of people employed tripled and the sales turnover increased 600 per cent. Any surplus from trade is divided between re-investment into Daily Bread Northampton, a small bonus to employees and various charities.
The Daily Bread Northampton motto demonstrates their clear and continued focus:
Supplying products which offer good value for money and positive benefits to the customer and the environment.