Host Café behind the scenes: Luminary Bakery

Host Café runs by its Community’s values of presence, creativity, acceptance, accountability, balance, inclusion and hospitality. This is why we choose suppliers that have the same goals, ethics and values as us. This means that Host wouldn’t be what it is today without the work of our brilliant suppliers. We want to promote trade justice by using fairly traded products, reflecting our broader value of upholding, exploring and promoting justice. As a first in our series of Host Café behind the scenes: our suppliers, we’d like to introduce you to… Luminary Bakery! 

After Luminary, our second favourite word in the dictionary must be Empowerment. Throw cakes into that mix and you’ve just found yourself London’s most badass bakery. The foundation of Luminary Bakery was built on the belief that everyone has value.

“Thousands of women in the UK experience poverty, homelessness, violence or criminal activity; this creates disadvantage, it attacks their self-belief & it drastically reduces the opportunities available to them. Luminary exists for these women.”

By offering skills training, paid employment and a supportive community Luminary’s social enterprise helps women thrive. The incredible women standing at the foundation of Luminary Bakery, have created a safe space where anyone can feel accepted and valued. Alice Williams began her mission in 2014 and has since then helped women from disadvantaged backgrounds to build the skills and the confidence that can change and shape their future. 

Luminary bakery has supported women victim of human trafficking, others have been through the criminal justice system and some of them have experienced homelessness. All of these traumatic experiences have led them to distrust humanity and losing the people that once supported them. The training they receive works as a boost and allows women to recreate relationships.Not only Luminary Bakery is fundamental for the employability of these women, but it also helps them get proper housing, managing their money and supporting their wellbeing. 

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How do women get to be part of Luminary’s training? 

Luminary bakery works on a referral basis. The referrals arrive from various organisations such as Crisis; St Mungo’s; Hestia; NHS; Arch 76 and many more. In order to help all the women that get referred to them, Luminary needs support and funds.

This is why we decided to collaborate with these Wonder Women to make sure that every slice of cake you eat matters!