Form a team
Young people come together as the CanTeam Crew and understand the opportunity.
How CanTeam works
From an idea
to a shared table.
CanTeam combines practical youth leadership with good food, a warm welcome and a place the community already knows.
A complete Crew journey.
Young people do not simply attend. They help create the experience from beginning to end. Crew can be primary- or secondary-aged, with responsibilities adapted appropriately.
Listen and co-design
Crew members consider their guests, shape the menu and plan an experience that feels local.
Choose real roles
Responsibilities can include welcoming, hosting, activities, food preparation, communications and evaluation.
Plan together
The Crew works with school staff, caterers and partners to make the event safe, inclusive and achievable.
Host the event
Families and neighbours share food, conversation and activities in a warm local space.
Reflect and grow
Crew members recognise their contribution, learn from feedback and decide what could happen next.
The host offer
A supported partnership, shaped locally.
CanTeam brings a practical model and experienced support. The school or host brings the place, relationships and local knowledge that make it real.
- A structured planning and co-design process
- Crew development, roles and practical resources
- Support to connect food, activities and community partners
- Guidance on inclusion, safeguarding, delivery and evaluation
- A route to reflect, learn and decide what should happen next
- A named staff or venue lead
- A suitable, safe and accessible host venue
- Young people who can form the Crew
- Connection to families and the local community
- Food provision through a caterer, kitchen or food partner
Open to everyone
Good food.
Open to all.
CanTeam events are sociable and inclusive. Affordable prices and discreet additional support can help ensure cost is not a barrier; some meals are fully funded through local partnerships.
How affordability can work
One principle. Different local approaches.
CanTeam should be available, affordable, accessible and appealing. A host may use grant funding, school or partner subsidy, a modest ticket price, discreet funded places, donated ingredients or a blend of these.
The right model depends on the community and partners. Dignified access matters: nobody should be publicly singled out because they need support.
A pathway, not a prescription
One meal can be the beginning.
Explore how CanTeam might develop. Each place can use only the stages that are wanted, useful and sustainable locally.
Stage 1 of 4
CanTeam event
A first youth-led shared dining experience that lets the Crew, host and community test what works.
What it needsA Crew, a safe host venue, food provision, guests and a practical plan.
What comes nextReflect on feedback before deciding whether another event would add value.
This is a flexible pathway, not a required sequence. A place may begin with one event, repeat what works or pause at any stage.
A Future Hub sits outside this pathway. It is a wider Future Foundations place-based partnership, hosted through existing community infrastructure, in which CanTeam may play an anchoring role.
A two-minute starting point
Plan your first CanTeam.
Tell us what you already have. There is no pass or fail—most CanTeams begin with a few strengths and some questions to solve together.