The Makings of a Social Enterprise
In 2017, Chris placed social impact at the heart of the business, gradually transforming Chris’ Kitchen into a social enterprise focused on creating training opportunities and pathways to employment for people facing disadvantage. This mission aligns closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and our belief that meaningful employment can change lives.
Social Access and Inclusion – what does this mean?
At Chris’ Kitchen, we are committed to eliminating barriers to employment by creating opportunities for people who are often excluded from the workforce, including those experiencing disadvantage, homelessness, disability, and survivors of domestic and family violence.
Many capable and talented people struggle to secure stable employment due to circumstances beyond their control. Our employment strategy focuses on providing a fair go to those who may otherwise be overlooked, creating supportive pathways into meaningful work, skill development, confidence, and community connection.
Meaningful Employment Impact
To date, Chris’ Kitchen has provided over 60,000 hours of safe employment to people facing barriers to work, representing more than $1.7 million in wages and superannuation.
Over the years, we have trained and employed people experiencing or living with:
- Physical disability
- Domestic and family violence
- Anxiety and depression
- Autism and schizophrenia
- Homelessness or risk of homelessness
- Recovery from substance abuse
- Criminal records and reintegration barriers
- Refugees and asylum seeker experiences
- Language barriers
- Single parenthood
- Age-related barriers (55+)
Beyond employment, we have provided additional in-house support through English language classes, financial literacy education, wellbeing and happiness workshops, and practical mentoring designed to build confidence, independence, and long-term opportunities.
We also proudly donate 3% of annual profits to charities and initiatives tackling hunger, poverty, and barriers to employment.
Good for People, Planet & Community
At Chris’ Kitchen, we believe food should bring people together. We create inclusive products for people with dietary needs, so nobody misses out during celebrations and everyday moments of connection.
Our products are gluten free, dairy free, vegan, halal and kosher, made with a focus on whole foods, natural ingredients, quality, and flavour.
We are also committed to operating sustainably. Our kitchen is now mostly solar powered, and we have introduced initiatives that reduced waste by approximately 13,000 litres per year and lowered our CO₂ emissions by approximately 41 tonnes annually.
Recognition & Awards
- Best Local Product, Fremantle (2022)
- Active Citizens Recognition, Fremantle (2023)
- Best of the West, 9 News Perth (2024)
- Community Citizen of the Year, Fremantle (2024)
- Australian of the Year Finalist, Western Australia (2025)
- Citizen of the Year Recognition, Fremantle (2025)
Nutrition & Hunger Relief Impact
We believe good nutrition is a basic human right and that no child should suffer from preventable malnutrition. Through our giving initiatives, Chris’ Kitchen supports micronutrient-fortified meal programs for children under five in Rwanda, Malawi, Kenya, and Tanzania.
To date, we have donated towards
more than 150,000 fortified meals.
Micronutrient deficiencies (the lack of essential vitamins and minerals) affect billions of people worldwide and are one of the leading causes of preventable intellectual disability in children, preventable blindness, and maternal death during childbirth.
Globally, due to malnutrition
- 200 million children suffer cognitive impairment in the first five years of life
- More than 8,000 children die every day
Food fortification is one of the most effective ways to address this crisis by adding essential nutrients into staple foods consumed daily by vulnerable communities. This helps ensure that mothers and children receive life-saving nutrition through everyday meals.
Good Food & Good Intentions
Chris’ Kitchen has long been passionate about hunger relief and community initiatives. In 2020, we proudly participated in Meal Makers, a collaborative fundraising event bringing together chefs and food businesses to help tackle food insecurity. As part of the event, Chris showcased her cooking through dishes including eggplant rolls and chocolate mousse.
The fundraiser successfully achieved its goal of providing 250,000 meals, raising more than $125,000 to support vulnerable Western Australians through community relief programs.
Investing Impact
Our vision is that of a world in which where you are born does not have to dictate a life of poverty.
So far we financed four small business ideas
and empowered four families to grow their income.
We aim to support charities around the world to create pathways out of poverty and empower families to grow their incomes. We choose to focus on women entrepreneurs to support systemic change and for this purpose we choose to invest in financial education and business skills and to fund small business ideas to break the cycle of poverty for good.
In emerging economies, especially in rural areas:
- There is a lot of poverty in the Asia-Pacific region where 1.7 billion people are living on less than $2/day
- Women are particularly affected as they have less economic opportunities and are not able to access finance, due to gender discrimination and a lack of same written records and collateral as men
- Women are key contributors to their family’s livelihood and future security
- Women are key contributors in their communities’ long term development as they are more likely to stay in their communities once skills are acquired and pass on those skills and knowledge to other community members and future generations
Top 3 ways we choose to make a difference through economic empowerment:
- Building resilience through responsible microfinance for business start up and growth
- Supporting women-led small enterprises through lending
- Supporting entrepreneurs through financial education and money management skills
Humanitarian Relief Initiatives
Chris’ Kitchen has proudly supported humanitarian relief efforts for people affected by war and displacement, raising more than $15,000 AUD for Ukrainian and Palestinian refugees.
Funds raised for Ukrainian refugees supported volunteers working on the ground at the Romanian–Ukrainian border, helping provide emergency supplies, transport, accommodation, and support for displaced women and children.
We also ran a a series of sold-out cooking classes to support Palestinian refugees affected by the war on Gaza. Funds raised were donated to assist with emergency food supplies and urgent medical care.
“I am trying to build a little corner of the world in which I would like to live. A business makes sense to my heart when it makes people happier, healthier and gives hope for a better future. This is why we do what we do, with persistence and coherence, and the only way I can feel happy. There is a deeply human motivation in every decision I make.”
Chris Anca
Founder & Owner
Our Company SEEDS Values
Supportive and inclusive team environment that is built on
Empathy, care and fairness, which is
Exciting and fun, with great commitment to
Delicious, innovative, high-quality products, that help fund our
Social mission to create sustainable social impact.