Photo caption (L-R): Mahesh Patel, Director of Buying for Bidfood, and Robert Layman, Charity Coordinator at Slough Homeless Our Concern (SHOC)
Over the last two weeks, local foodservice provider, Bidfood in Slough, took part in Bidfood’s campaign ‘Sharing is Caring’, to support homeless communities across the UK. To support this great cause, the whole of Bidfood’s Head Office in Slough donated four extra-large boxes of winter-warming essentials and six large cages full of surplus food to SHOC; as well as chefs from Bidfood cooking a winter meal for over 50 homeless people at the charity. Bidfood’s ‘Sharing is Caring’ campaign aims to bring employees from across the whole business together, to help keep all those struggling people on the streets warm this winter, through various donations and local activities across the country. These donations included: Bidfood’s specially designed freezer suits, warm clothing, outwear, thick blankets, duvets, sleeping bags and surplus food from Bidfood events, customer tastings and employee donations. The freezer suits were originally designed to keep employees at the depot warm whilst working in the freezer; made to withstand temperatures reaching as low as -21°C, they are perfect to keep the homeless warm on the streets during the coming colder months. To go a step further, the Bidfood development chefs, Martin and Craig, brought an array of Bidfood’s wholesale foods to SHOC, to cook up a delicious warming winter meal for over 50 hungry homeless guests. Talking about the campaign, Chris Walkden, General Manager, Bidfood in Slough, said: “It can be very cold in the UK during winter, so it is wonderful to know that by donating these items, we are helping local people who really need it. “Christmas was a time where we thought a lot about giving and receiving, but now in the new year when everyone is tightening their belts, many people can tend to forget about all those individuals struggling out there who have the same challenges all year round; so it is important to me and the team, to make a conscious effort to support as best we can and know it’s going to make a difference.” In a bid to give back to the local community, over the last year, the Slough depot, has taken part in multiple local initiatives and donated a variety of goods to a range of worthy causes, and plans to continue this throughout 2019. These donations have included delivering surplus stock to foodbanks, as well as raising money for local charities through a host of fundraising events, such as kayaking across the English Channel. Talking about the campaign, Mandy McGuire, Founder of SHOC, said: “The support that Bidfood has given us over the duration of our partnership has been great. “Their regular weekly food donations of surplus stock after customer tastings, showcases and development days, have been incredibly helpful to us to provide delicious meals to our guests. “On top of this, we really appreciate all recent donations of clothing and useful winter items from Bidfood as part of their Sharing is Caring campaign – the amount donated really shocked us! “Thank you, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Bidfood in the future.”