The CanTeam Story: How After-School Dining is Bringing Families, Children & Community Together through Healthy Food, Activity & Talking

The best ideas are often the simplest.

And they start from asking questions. Questions like:

• How do we encourage children to eat more healthy food?
• How do we bring people in communities together and strengthen social connections?
• How do we make use of schools AFTER school is finished (and most schools close)?

This was how CanTeam came into being and why the initiative was given a Spotlight Call by ACTionism.

You can watch the recording of the CanTeam Spotlight Call (one of the regular conversations the ACTionism team has with people, groups and initiatives working towards a #CitizenFuture).

And here's a summary of what it's all about...

What is CanTeam?

CanTeam is an after-school social dining initiative. Co-designed with young people, it encourages them, their families and local community to enjoy nutritious and delicious food - and activities - together.

What Happens at a CanTeam event?

Every CanTeam event runs along similar guiding principles of Community, Activities, Nutrition and Team (hence CANTeam, or CanTeam).

But it is up to each group of organising students (working and collaborating with teachers, parents and outside partners) to decide how they want their experience to be.

Sunnyhill Primary School in Lambeth, South London, chose a Black History theme. Townley Grammar School in Bexleyheath, Kent, went with a Winter Wonderland.

Activities organised for school CanTeam events have included clothes swaps, table tennis, bingo, singing, dancing and quizzes.

However, the focus is on eating good food in a communal setting - community dining, from BBQ to buffet or a sit-down main meal. Outside catering companies or chefs have supported events to ensure good, healthy and diverse food is served.

How Did the Idea for CanTeam Come About?

The founder of CanTeam is Jonathan Harper, CEO of Future Foundations. Jonathan has 20+ years' experience in social action and leadership projects, and worked with schools around the country.

In the Spotlight Call, Jonathan said the seeds for CanTeam were planted after the Grenfell Tower tragedy. As part of the response to support the community, Jonathan ran a summer programme of events and activities, which included community dining.

Jonathan said: "Parents and families were coming up to me and saying 'This is extraordinary' "

Through his work, Jonathan saw the impact of the cost of living crisis, noted that schools were having breakfast clubs and lunch clubs but nothing after school, and observed that people were typically not mixing with other people or talking to strangers.

Another seed from his younger past was his participation in Call to Care, a community service which involved pupils visiting care homes. Jonathan recalled weekly visits to an elderly lady, making her a cup of tea and having conversations.

So, when Jonathan saw the investment charity Big Change asking people if they had a BIG idea to transform education, he shared his concept of CanTeam - community dining in schools after school has finished.

And his idea was a winner.

Why is the Initiative Called CanTeam?

The name emerged from thinking about phrases like 'Can do' and 'Can do Team', plus it's a bit of a play on the word 'Canteen'.

Jonathan quickly realised the name meant more than that and was a perfect summary of what the project is all about.

The C stands for Community. The A stands for Activities. The N stands for Nutrition. And Team speaks for itself - it is all about co-creation, collaboration and partnerships.

What Do Students Think of CanTeam (and What Have They Got Out of being Part of It)?

CanTeam started with single events at participating schools then began to pilot regular events, to see if the idea would remain popular. In one example, a series of 19 events attracted 1,500 diners.

Students shared their opinions about what it was like to take part in a CanTeam, in a video shared by Jonathan in the ACTionism Spotlight Call.

Here's a selection of the children's comments:

A Sense of Belonging: “CanTeam brings community to schools and it just brings a sense of belonging. I also like to volunteer and not only does it help myself, it will help someone. Someone will appreciate it and that’s what CanTeam is all about.”

Sharing a Bond: “I chose to get involved because I thought it’s, like, a very good experience to gain new skills talking to different people, and it’s nice to share a bond in a relationship with different people, especially the new people that we met today from different backgrounds and, like, care homes. It’s sweet.”

Meeting New People and the Community: “I didn’t really have much experience in hospitality and, I mean, I’d never had a job before, either. So, I thought this (CanTeam) was a great opportunity to try that out, meet new people and also meet the community around me.”

Learning How to Communicate: “I’d day the most valuable skill is good communication. Obviously you have to be good at, you know, telling the team ‘I need to do this’ but in a polite way, making sure everything runs smoothly.  Just learning how to communicate with everyone, making sure everyone’s good, if they need help, is good. It prepares you for life as well as for your job.”

Teamwork to 'Fly Smoothly': “I think teamwork was the most valuable skill that I’ve  learned today, being together as one. And being together as one, you’ll fly smoothly.”

Talking Across the Table: “One of the most valuable skills I’ve developed here is networking with new individuals who I’ve never seen before, establishing that through a meal and family talk. Having that talk with someone across the table you get to have this connection and build new relationships.”

Three Lessons from CanTeam's Activity

Jonathan shared three lessons from the CanTeam work he has done with students, families, schools and communities:

1. Share your dream
2. Keep believing
3. Do it... and see how it works

Where Does CanTeam Go From Here?

Jonathan said there was a lot of thought going into how to build on the CanTeam success story so far. Ideas include:

• Partnerships - Growing more partnerships with Academy Trusts, catering businesses and other relevant and aligned supporters.
• Social Franchise Model - Rolling out the model so others can follow it.
• Systems Change - Work with schools to transform canteen culture.
• Micro Finance Projects - Extension (for example, of the partnership with Bite Back) to help schools set up their own CanTeam.

So, if you're a school, parent, student, chef or catering business you might want to find out more or get in touch with Jonathan at Future Foundations.