STEW: Round Two - because one serving is never enough.

York Together
Jul 10
5 min read

Updated: Aug 12

After the success of our event in April, we've decided to put on another STEW, and this time we're originally calling it, STEW: Round Two!

It will take place at the Bluebird Bakery in Acomb on the evening of

Wednesday the 8th October.

A set of event cards sits on a wooden table next to a candle and flower. — A photo from our first STEW event

What is STEW?

Do you want to have a fun evening and eat good food, all while supporting local groups trying to make a difference in York?

Join us at the Bluebird Bakery in Acomb for STEW: Round Two!

This event will be held on Wednesday the 8th October from 6:15 pm - 9 pm.

You will enjoy delicious stew and a drink whilst hearing from people making a difference in their community.

How will the event work?

STEW is a new event designed to build community whilst raising funds for grassroots groups. It’s a space where we can come together, share a warming stew (hence the name), learn about one another's ideas, and make new connections.

After we’ve eaten, three people will have just four minutes each to pitch their community grassroots project idea in front of the audience.

There will then be a vote to decide which project will benefit York the most.

100% of the money raised through ticket sales will go into a prize pot. This will be shared between the pitchers, with the majority going to the winner.

Dietary information: The stew and bread we’re providing will be vegan. Unfortunately, there are no gluten free options at the bakery.

Many people sit together in conversation in a cosy cafe interior. — The crowd at STEW in April

Why is gathering together important?

In a time where society feels divided, we want to gather people together over food and a shared desire to make York a more equitable city and push back against the forces that want to sow division.

As a collective, York Together believes in the importance of relationships, and so we're keen for like-minded people to meet and support one another while working towards change.

However, we're not just a talking shop. Our community dinner will also have an opportunity for us to take action. In STEW this will be by allocating the money raised from ticket sales to three grassroots groups or individuals who attend to share and pitch their ideas.

The prize pot

100% of the money you pay for your ticket will go into a prize pot and we have 60 tickets available.

We know that everyone's financial situation is different and so (to make this event accessible to as many people as possible) we're offering a 'pay what you can' ticket system.

Please contribute what feels right for you.

If we sell each at £8 each (the suggested amount) we should raise around £480.

Using our suggested pricing as a guide, we aim to split the funds at the end of the night with at least £200 to the winner and £100 each going to the runners-up.

As we've previously been given last-minute donations at the event, we will evaluate how much we raise by the end of the night and split the funds accordingly.

If you can, please consider paying more for your ticket to boost the amount in the prize pot.

What's cooking?

Bluebird Bakery will be serving up some delicious stew with the following ingredients:

Butternut squash, red pepper, sweet potato, potato, aubergine, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, tomatoes, salt, pepper, olive oil, parsley, coriander

There will also be bread and butter available on the side.

What inspired this idea?

At York Together we have heard from grassroots community groups that there are limited spaces in which informal community groups and individuals trying to make a change can be platformed, heard and supported.

We also know that those with ideas on how York can be a fairer, more equitable and sustainable city can struggle to find funding through existing funding schemes.

Thinking about how we can meet these needs, we were inspired by microgranting dinners such as Detroit SOUP. You can read about Detroit SOUP on their website.

The SOUP model has been replicated in multiple places in the UK. One of York Together’s Members, Abigail Darton, was involved in Camden SOUP, and we are aware that SOUP was also run in York with the last one being in 2019.

There are some key differences to our community dinner, however. The foremost difference is that the focus is on gathering and relationships. The second is that all three pitches will receive some funding, rather than only one receiving the full prize pot. The third is that we will also be encouraging attendees to write down what they thought was great about each pitch so that this can be fed back to the pitchers after the event.

Our hope is that everyone that attends STEW will leave feeling energised, hopeful that change can happen and more connected to like-minded people.

Bread and warming stew waits to be eaten. — Delicious food served at STEW

Opportunity for learning

We are committed to trying different ways of gathering learning as well as different ways to get money to projects run by individuals and grassroots groups in York. We recognise that learning happens over time and we want to learn alongside you. This is especially important in this instance as it is the first time that we have run a community dinner like STEW.

We want to hear feedback from people before, during and after the event to help us learn what worked and what could be better. We also want to understand who has been excluded from this format.

You might have some practical questions that we haven’t answered in this blog post, or you may be someone that is intrigued by our approach and would like to learn a bit more about our thinking.

You can email us at hello@yorktogether.org or send us a WhatsAapp message/voice note on 07851 230619 and we will get back to you.

Please be aware that we work part-time flexible hours so it make time for us to respond.

How accessible is the event?

We have thought about how to make sure that STEW is accessible and enjoyable.

Bluebird Bakery has step-free access and is on one level with accessible toilets.
Quiet space - there is a small staff room that can be used as a quiet room for those who need time out. Please note that Bakery staff may pop in to access lockers.
In solidarity with the recovery community, this is an alcohol-free event.
We have BSL interpreters.

York Together