Re:fresh award-winning foodservice supplier Pauleys is tackling food waste thanks to a pioneering agreement with a local hospice.
Fresh fruit and vegetables approaching their best-before date are being donated to Lakelands Day Care Hospice, at Oakley Vale in Northamptonshire, close to Pauleys’ operations in Corby.
Hospice staff make daily collections of fresh produce from Pauleys to create nutritious meals for 20 patients every day and weekly lunches for visiting carer groups.
The hospice relies entirely on voluntary donations and support from the community to provide respite day-care facilities for adults living with cancer and heart failure.
Pauleys’ marketing director Rachel Sewter said: “Pauleys takes pride in providing our customers with fantastic-quality produce. The team at Corby carefully monitors the process and if we believe a product will not fulfil the agreed shelf-life guarantee, it will not be sent to a customer.
“Although running close to their best-before date, all the fruit and vegetables we give to Lakelands are safe to eat. This is food that would otherwise be sent to landfill, so in addition to providing essential support to a deserving charity, the initiative addresses the growing concerns over food waste in the UK and helps reduce the impact on the environment.”
Jodie Jelley, fundraising manager at Lakelands, said: “Lakelands needs to raise in excess of £350,000 in 2009 to keep its doors open and the generosity of local companies such as Pauleys is invaluable in helping us meet our goals.”
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