March/April 2021

EVENTS
Breaking Bread
Impact Study
How a pop-up tipi village in Bristol provided work for 100
hospitality and event industry workers during the summer of Covid
A RECENT impact report undertaken by
the team behind pioneering Bristol tipi
village, Breaking Bread, has highlighted
the socio-economic and environmental
impact of the project within the local
hospitality industry.
Breaking Bread was created by festival
and event producers Team Love in
response to the Covid-19 emergency
regulations for the event and hospitality
industries. At the beginning of 2020 these
industries were worth £100bn (events) and
£133.5bn (hospitality), both key players
in the UK’s economy and vital to social
cohesion. However, reports suggest that at
the end of the pandemic we will likely see
an estimated 700 000 job losses across the
UK's pub and events industry, with 61 per
cent of event businesses believing they’ll
cease trading by spring 2021 without any
directed help.
The emphasis of this project was to
provide a safe outdoor dining experience
for people to reconnect with their
social environment while keeping the
hospitality and event sectors afloat in
these challenging times. With resilience at
its heart, Team Love re-engaged with its
established clientele and invested directly
into local partnerships to strengthen
an existing chain of local suppliers,
contractors, workers and producers.
Breaking Bread launched in July 2020
and featured some of Bristol’s most
established hospitality venues; The Pony
& Trap, Pasta Loco, The Love Inn and The
Pipe and Slippers. It ran up until October
of 2020, providing much needed activity
for the region’s hospitality industry and
supply chains.
Team Love spent the winter months
analysing the project impact, ahead of
reopening for a 2021 edition with targets
for improvements in all areas.
KEY FINDINGS
Throughout the three months of Breaking
Bread’s operation, the project provided
work for over 100 hospitality and event
industry workers. Working with a supply
chain of around 50 organisations – 36 of
which were directly based in Bristol across
the food, drink and events industries.
One of the most illuminating statistics of
the report however, is that by taking these
100 staff out of the furlough and Universal
Credit process, Breaking Bread saved
the government an estimated £220,000
through direct employment.
The project was also a huge benefit to
local suppliers with a direct spend with
local contractors and suppliers sitting at
£561,000.
Project co-founder Josh Eggleton said:
“The whole premise of Breaking Bread
was to provide a circular economic boost
for the region. These kinds of numbers
show the potential here. At a time when
the UK had nearly 10 million people on
furlough, it was crucial financially as well
as emotionally to do everything we could
to bring that number down.”
Breaking Bread also provided a
significant boost for the city's residents.
37,000 people visited the outdoor
restaurants on Bristol’s famous Downs,
with Breaking Bread selling out tables for
its restaurant and pub gardens months in
advance.
Sustainability also played a huge factor
in the project. Within the report the team
highlighted that of the 16.4 tonnes of CO2
the event emitted, was entirely balanced
through global tree planting and land
protection initiatives. With the team
choosing to work alongside Ecolibrium to
achieve this.
Stringent waste management policies
saw general waste handled by experts
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