By Elizabeth Hunter via SWNS
An investment banker quit his corporate job to fight food poverty – and has distributed more than £400,000 ($510,904) worth in just two years.
Dale Todd spent over a decade at a global investment banking company in London where he worked his way up to a Vice President role.
But in 2018 Dale, from Glasgow, decided he wanted to make more of a positive impact.
He wanted a job with “more purpose,” and returned home to pursue work in the third sector – but struggled to land a role with his corporate experience.
In April 2022, Dale founded Courtyard Pantry – designed to help to reduce food poverty and serving thousands of meals across Glasgow.
“I worked for a global investment bank for over a decade, in London and laterally in Glasgow, which was very high pressure and tense but also well paid,” said Dale.
“I was promoted to Vice President and I remember feeling that I was reaching the end of the road.
”I realized it wasn’t the right fit for me and harbored ambitions to work for a third-sector organization, in a job with purpose and meaning beyond making money.
“It’s very difficult when you’re working for a huge multinational to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. It was hard to connect what I was doing.
“The generosity of my teammates overwhelmed me, and I could see the power of a community coming together. And that sparked something in me.”
“I firmly believe social enterprises and cooperatives are a big part of our future in terms of economic development, pre-distribution and redistribution of wealth.
“The current system is not working for the majority of people – economic growth must be ecologically and socially sustainable, and social enterprise feels to me the way forward.
“I’d encourage more people in financial services to come over and share expertise, and overall do good.
“When I joined the third sector, I came in at an entry level and had to start again. But working for a global investment bank taught me so much about how to run an organization, and I couldn’t have wished for better education on managing people and costs, having a strategy and vision of what we want to achieve.
“Both sectors have a lot to learn from each other and should learn to tap into the talent on each side.”
Last year, Courtyard Pantry’s cafe space, in Wester Common Drive, in Possilpark started hosting a series of free community meals, as well as launching citywide catering deliveries with a new electric quadricycle.
The organization offers its services to more than 100 people each week and has distributed more than £400,000 worth of food since its launch.
Amongst the more than 1,500 people the social enterprise has helped is Yusuf Abdulkareem, a student who moved to Glasgow from Nigeria to complete an MBA at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Yusuf began working at the pantry as a volunteer, after finding it difficult to find a job in the UK that reflected his skills and experience – and now, as the manager of the Pantry, he has praised the opportunities provided by the organization.
He said: “Working and volunteering at Courtyard Pantry gave me a soft-landing into UK society – I’m comfortable here because I got such a good introduction, and that helped me integrate.
“The environment here makes people realize their full potential. It’s a space that lets people be what they want to be, and they have space to grow.
“It’s a great place to work, there’s this friendly environment and everyone wants to help each other. What motivates us is the community, it brings us together. The work we do brings joy to people, and you can see that.”
Paul Sweeney, MSP for the Glasgow Region and long-term trustee of Courtyard Pantry Enterprise, explained how he feels the Pantry is making a significant difference in one of Glasgow’s most deprived areas.
He said: “The essence of the pantry is moving away from the shame and indignity of the food bank and seeking charity to build up community resilience and a way to shop ethically as well as affordably.
“It’s about ultimately seeding community wealth, and it’s the logical thing to do to support the circular economy, the climate crisis, and to show solidarity with your neighbors.
“Courtyard Pantry operates in one of the poorest communities in Scotland, and whilst there’s a lot of positive regeneration going on the underlying economic issue is that there are higher levels of unemployment and poverty.
“Unemployment isn’t just a personal tragedy, it’s a societal ill that we need to solve.”
Dale and his team remain proud of the work done at the Courtyard Pantry, and they hope to continue offering their services throughout the new year and continue to positively impact the local community.
“We produce and serve great quality food, but also a significant social impact,” Dale said.
“We have an amazing team, chefs supported by our employees that are drawn from different backgrounds and have faced various barriers to employment.
“We put every penny we make back into the services we offer that help support some of the most vulnerable people in Glasgow.
“However, it’s not just about providing food and support in the short term. The employment opportunities we provide give people a chance to climb out of poverty, but also to contribute to their community and that’s a big motivator for our employees.
“The more people use our services, the bigger the impact we can make.”
“Our charitable purpose is to lift people out of poverty, and one way we do that is providing well paid, secure jobs.
“However, our inspiration is to become a local anchor organization – a real wealth generator within the community, and we’re well on the road to achieving it.”
