Thank-you to Waitrose and Veris

On day twelve of ‘16 days of action to end violence against women and girls’, we’d like to say a big thank-you to Waitrose in Bedford for their support.

As part of a Veris led project, Waitrose donate surplus and ‘good to eat’ food, which has just gone past its sell by date, to local community groups.

We visit the store once a twice a week to collect food that is available, which is then made freely available to all our clients in our client kitchen.

The food is a massive boost to our clients, particularly in the winter months.

Some women tell us they can’t afford to eat every day. Others might not be living somewhere settled with a kitchen, or might need to rush out of their house to stay safe. Other clients may be with us from first thing in the morning until after lunch.  As such, the ability to make a snack when clients are with us, or take some extra food home is very welcomed.

The interesting thing about the project is that you can’t guarantee what food will be available! Quite often there is bread, which is a great starting point. But we’ve had crates of avocados, vitamin drinks, cupcakes and exotic fruit and vegetables. So it can be a great way to offer a treat or try something new!

Thank-you again to Waitrose and Veris, who are an award winning organisation supporting its customers to achieve sustainability in a creative, value added way. Veris lead and coordinate the project, identifying and matching suitable community organisations with local Waitrose stores.