What is a Social Enterprise?

Good question. And one people tend to look confused about.

A social enterprise is a business that operates to change things for the better. Their mission is to benefit a social issue, the environment, or a culture in some way. A social enterprise has paid employees who work to help a cause.  In a nutshell, a social enterprise is a mix of profit and passion.  

Eat My Lunch feeds Kiwi kids in need  

Eat My Lunch is a social enterprise - a cause-driven business. When you purchase a lunch from us, a healthy school lunch is also given to a Kiwi kid in need. Now, that’s something you can feel good about!

We pay our staff to make, promote and deliver lunches to homes and businesses, so we can feed more Kiwi kids who would otherwise go without.  Once again – a mix of profit and passion. One cannot exist without the other.

If we make a profit – what makes us different from a traditional business?

It’s what we do with our profits that sets us apart. A dedicated portion of our profits go towards feeding Kiwi kids healthy school lunches, so Kiwi kids can thrive at school and enjoy food security.  

Why do you have volunteers as well as paid workers?

By engaging volunteers to help make the school lunches, we can keep costs down and productivity up.  Volunteers love the hands-on experience, the busy morning vibe with funky music, and seeing the good our social enterprise makes every school day.

It is a wonderful way to engage with your staff, social team or simply catch up with mates. All our volunteers are treated to decent coffee (it is an early start after all) and artisan cereal/yoghurt once all the school lunches are made.  Companies find it’s an excellent way to engage with their customers too, so if volunteering sounds like something you’d be interested in, pop over to our volunteer page.

Social enterprises in New Zealand

There are around 3,500 social enterprises in New Zealand. This includes community organisations, co-operatives, housing associations, and businesses such as Will and Able, Raglan Food Co and Take My Hands.   

If you or your workplace would like to help us in our social mission to feed more Kiwi kids and fight the effects of child poverty, see our full range of catering options, or buy a subscription and feed a child every week, fortnight or month.