Ark CanTeam Impact Report Published
CanTeam is an after school social dining initiative co-designed with young people that encourages students and their families to enjoy nutritious, delicious and diverse foods together.
Launched by Future Foundations in June 2023, CanTeam aims to embed a transformative food culture within schools, enabling young people to learn and thrive.
Over the first 6 months of the initiative CanTeam was funded and supported by the Big Change Big Education Challenge to develop the concept, consult beneficiaries and test the idea.
With the support of funds secured by Ark from The Reuben Foundation and the Raheem Sterling Foundation we piloted the launch of weekly CanTeam events at two schools; Ark King Solomon Academy and Ark Burlington Danes Academy over 8 weeks from w/c 15th January to w/c 4th March 2024, with a break for half term.
With over 760 young people, parents/carers and teachers attending and 98 percent keen to see more events at their school, there is a clear demand and need that CanTeam is responding to.
CanTeam has quickly become part of both school communities, with attendees returning week-on-week, and sharing positive feedback about their experience. Students were given training, mentoring and support by Future Foundations to volunteer at the events taking on key roles in making the events a success for all involved.
The aim was to transform school canteens into welcoming community hubs.
Our Ark CanTeam Impact report shares key insights from attendees, the student volunteers, the catering teams and lead teachers. We will be using the insights learned to inform future piloting and scaling of CanTeam.
“We could not have delivered this extended pilot without the support of Ark and the funds from the Raheem Sterling Foundation and the Reuben Foundation to enable us to offer all meals at no cost to families for an extended period. We are grateful to the schools, caterers, Ark and the funders for their incredible support.
We are excited to continue developing CanTeam and to see the impact we can have on the health and wellbeing of young people and their families throughout the UK. We invite you to join us in making our vision and mission a reality. Together we can create a brighter future for all. “
–Jonathan Harper, CEO Future Foundations & Founder of CanTeam
888 people attended 14 events at 2 schools with the following overall feedback statistics:
- 98% of attendees said Yes or Maybe to more CanTeam events.
- Rated 4.82 out of 5 by Parents/Carers and 4.58 by Young People at Burlington Danes Academy
- Rated 4.72 out of 5 by Parents/Carers and 4.37 by Young People at King Solomon Academy
Partner context:
Ark is an education charity that works to make sure that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a great education and real choices in life. Ark supports 30,000 children directly across 39 schools. Their schools are at the forefront of the cost-of-living crisis. Many of them are stepping in to provide crisis support for the students and communities they serve, despite working with already stretched budgets.
“We are delighted to be piloting community meals with Future Foundation’s CanTeam initiative, making a tangible difference to both the students and the communities we serve.”
–Holly Mumford, Head of Philanthropy & Development, Ark
BIG NEWS – CanTeam, has been awarded £225,000
Future Foundations, the organisation behind CanTeam, has been awarded £225,000 to develop and pilot at scale the idea. The £1m prize fund is the first of its kind run by education charity Big Change and was set up to identify, support and reward bold ideas with the potential to transform education and learning in the UK. Click here to find out more.
Find out more:
- Read an article written by Nick Hughes, Food Writer & Journalist who visited BDA CanTeam here
- Read blogs written by student volunteers on their CanTeam journey here and here
- Read about CanTeam, our BIG idea for change here
Get in touch, if you think you can help…
- Email: jon@future-foundations.co.uk
We are looking for schools and partners who share our vision and can help us pilot CanTeam at scale.