Meet the Macclesfield businesswoman who sacrificed profits to provide 1300 lunches for kids
By Alex Greensmith
27th Apr 2023 | Local News
Meet the Macclesfield businesswoman who has given out thousands of free meals during the cost of living crisis.
Grab-and-go lunchspot Brown or White Sandwiches & Catering, based on 76 Mill Lane, is ran by Macclesfield born-and-raised Jolene Brittain.
Jolene first worked at Brown or White in 2010.
The former legal secretary-turned-buttie-expert then bought the business in 2018, which means she is celebrating her fifth anniversary in charge this year.
And there's even more reason to celebrate in 2023 as her altruistic efforts recently won her a Mayor of Macclesfield's Civic Award, at a ceremony where Macclesfield Nub News were the official photographers for.
"Given the nature of what we do, we love having chats with our customers", said Jolene.
"And people are always asking us to do bits for charity. And one of my friends suggested we should sign up to the Marcus Rashford campaign [to feed vulnerable children] last summer."
"We offered the meals at a very reduced rate, covering our costs and making no profit off it.
"We made 40 packed lunches a day for five weeks. [These were for pupils eligible for free school meals during the holidays]."
"The students at All Hallows' sports club loved the meals. And it was a great period of bonding for my team, the girls really got stuck in, we really enjoyed delivering them in person.
"The lunchboxes also had carrot sticks and cucumber sticks them. We averaged 260 packed lunches a week."
In total, Jolene and her team provided 1300 sandwiches, or 2600 slices of bread with a variety of her menu's greatest hits included in the boxes.
She's open to doing it again in the future.
Doing her bit for the community isn't out of the ordinary for Jolene, as her shop already has charity pots for the Children's Air Ambulance and the RSPCA.
Brown or White is also available to be booked for private events.
"To have received an award from the Mayor of Macclesfield to recognise this is amazing, I couldn't believe that we were nominated," added Jolene.
Their best seller is bacon butties on white bread. Their paninis and soups are also popular items.
Lots of local suppliers are used, Smith's Dairies of Macclesfield provides the milk, meat is from A D Lang Butchers of King Edward Street, bread is from Don Millers. A new addition to the company this year is selling delicious cakes from Treacletown Traybakes.
"The beauty of what we offer to our customers is that the menu hasn't changed much since we took it over",
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. With the exception of our specials board of course.
"But there's so much to choose from. We also cater to specific dietary requirements at request.
"What I like being about a business owner in Macclesfield is the fact that people come and have a chat. We know most of our customers by name.
"I used to work in the pub trade so I love having a laugh and service with a smile.
"Thank you to all our customers for their support over the years, we can't wait to serve for many more."
See Also: Bollington Printshop owners celebrate fifth year in charge with new services
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