Sodexo Health & Care donates 100,000 meals to The Bread and Butter Thing

Sodexo Health & Care has this week donated 100,000 frozen meals to support food redistribution charity, The Bread and Butter Thing, providing much-needed food to those in need of support this Christmas.

Working with Sodexo’s Stop Hunger Foundation and its supply partners Brakes and Lineage Logistics the frozen meals have been delivered to The Bread and Butter Thing so they can use them to provide nutritious hot meals to families across the UK over the Christmas and New Year period.

The meals include a range of traditional favourites such as shepherd’s and cottage pie, chicken in gravy, liver and onions, sausage and mash, as well as chicken goujons, cheese and tomato pizza, salmon fish cakes and chicken korma and vegetarian chili. The stock also includes side dishes such as mashed potato, cauliflower cheese and boiled rice.

Philip Leigh, CEO Health & Care, Sodexo UK & Ireland said: “Food insecurity is a huge issue in the UK today so as Christmas approached we have worked with the Stop Hunger team, our supply management teams, Lineage Logistics and Brakes to provide The Bread and Butter Thing with meals to support the local communities in which they operate. Knowing that the meals have gone to those who need some extra support this Christmas is fantastic, and I thank everyone involved who has helped make this happen.”

The Bread and Butter Thing is one of Sodexo’s Stop Hunger Foundation’s charity partners. Partners since February 2021, the Foundation has been providing financial support as well as providing regular volunteering slots for Sodexo colleagues at its Manchester warehouse and community hubs.

Mark Game, CEO, The Bread and Butter Thing added: “It’s like Christmas has come early for us! Sodexo and its Stop Hunger team have consistently been one of our biggest and most thoughtful partners. We’re extremely grateful to them for working with their teams at Brakes and Lineage to supply these amazing meals. Together we’re adding an extra sparkle to the festive period for thousands of families who are making tough choices between heating and eating. These 100,000 meals will make the world of difference.”

The Bread and Butter Thing is an award-winning food redistribution charity. It runs over 110 mobile food clubs, taking affordable food into some of the UK’s most impoverished communities. But food is just the start. The charity uses surplus food as a catalyst to have a transformative effect on people’s lives. It aims to empower people, to enable them to better manage limited funds, connect with their neighbours and reduce loneliness – with the added bonus of encouraging them to eat better.

Simon Pilbin, Corporate Account Director, Brakes said: “For many people Christmas can be an incredibly challenging time, so we’re delighted to be able to support this initiative to support local communities by providing tasty meals. Hopefully, we’ll help to spread a little Christmas cheer to those in need of some extra support over the festive period. This initiative fits perfectly to our wider company purpose of connecting the world to share food and care for one another.”

Sodexo is the founding partner of the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation. In the UK & Ireland, the Foundation (a UK registered charity) works with national and local charity partners to donate time, skills and money to tackle food insecurity and its root causes and help empower women – who represent the biggest opportunity in eliminating hunger.

Stop Hunger is an employee-led Sodexo initiative active in over 40 countries around the world. Thanks to the financial support of Sodexo, 100% of the donations made to Stop Hunger go directly to financing activities and sustainable solutions for disadvantaged communities to exit food insecurity.  

Stop Hunger’s mission, including fundraising and volunteering efforts, form part of Sodexo's Social Impact strategy, its ethical manifesto for leading the way to improve quality of life for society and our planet. The Foundation's work contributes to Sodexo’s global corporate responsibility commitment, Better Tomorrow 2025 which aligns to the Sustainable Development Goals designed by the UN to make the world a fairer and more equal place.