We have proudly partnered with Feeding Britain, the award-winning food aid charity, to help tackle hunger across the UK.
Our two organisations share a common purpose to provide affordable, nutritious food to children and communities, and this new partnership will see us work collaboratively to help eliminate hunger across the country, something which has been exacerbated by the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Feeding Britain has three core programmes – Affordable Food Clubs, Pathways from Poverty, and its Holiday Feeding Programme – all of which we will support through our network of State and Independent schools across the UK. This will also include the provision of food from across our supply chain, the donation of time and quality expertise from our nutrition, culinary, and operations teams, as well as fundraising support, and volunteering power.
Feeding Britain’s Affordable Food Clubs act as a bridge between those who are struggling with their weekly shop and needing to access a Food Bank. With nearly 300 hubs across the country, members of the club pay a small £1 fee to then receive heavily discounted food ingredients or freshly prepared meals. We will be immediately supporting clubs in Liverpool and Greenwich, with food, cookery sessions, and nutrition guidance this academic year, before rolling out the initiative more widely next academic year.
The Holiday Feeding Programme came about as a direct result of the lobbying and awareness campaign of Feeding Britain. We support the delivery of programmes across the country through engaging sessions delivered by our nutrition team. This year, through this partnership, we will extend our support through the provision of engaging collateral and the delivery of more in-person sessions from our award-winning nutrition team.
In addition to these initiatives, we will fundraise for Feeding Britain as our primary charity partner, kicking off the relationship with a £1,000 donation raised at our supplier engagement conference. Longer term, we will continue to support Feeding Britain through further fundraising initiatives.
Charles Brown, Managing Director, Chartwells said: "We can’t overstate our immense excitement to be partnering with Feeding Britain – a charity that shares our purpose and values. This is a truly symbiotic relationship that will see us open up our skills, expertise, and supply chain to help Feeding Britain, as we collectively look to tackle hunger across the UK.
“Our amazing frontline teams are the beating heart of our business. They do phenomenal work fuelling the learning of pupils, through the provision of healthy and nutritious food. Many of them are heavily involved in supporting their local communities, and this partnership will give us the framework to expand this support to further help schools and their communities during this challenging time.”
Andrew Forsey, National Director, Feeding Britain added: “Chartwells is a business that shares our values and is doing fantastic work feeding children up and down the UK. There are great synergies between our two organisations, through initiatives such as the HAF programme, and we are very excited to see how we can work collaboratively to help bring affordable, nutritious food to more communities.”