apetito puts in a shift to donate 20,000 meals to charity

Trowbridge-based apetito and its retail arm Wiltshire Farm Foods, has announced a substantial donation of 20,000 meals, split between FareShare and City Harvest London.

The charities share a common goal in redistributing food to those who need help the most whilst helping to tackle the environmental problem of food waste. They work across the food industry to get good quality, surplus food and redistribute it to frontline charities, homelessness shelters and community groups, making a significant, positive impact on the lives of individuals across the UK.

The donation was achieved through a production shift at apetito’s kitchens in Wiltshire, where staff from across the business volunteered their time and efforts to support this important cause by preparing, cooking and packaging up vast quantities of cottage pie and macaroni cheese meals.

apetito received support from some of its key supply partners who donated ingredients and materials to make the production possible. This includes ABP, who provided over 800kg of high-quality beef for the cottage pie recipe, Wyke Farms, who donated 160kg of its Wyke Farms Mature Cheddar, and apetito’s tray partner, Faerch, who gave 20,000 meal trays free of charge. Jardox also generously donated 47kg of roast beef bouillon and Integrity Print provided the service of printing custom-designed labels for every meal.

Paul Freeston, CEO and Chair of apetito, said, “At apetito, our ethos of ‘making a real difference’ is enshrined in our company values – it’s a value and a purpose that is shared by every member of our team. 

“Making nutritious and quality meals is central to our business and we are proud to be able to help FareShare and City Harvest London, who both do incredible work to help tackle hunger and food poverty, in this way.

 “I would like to thank everyone in our team for coming together to make this possible, along with our partner suppliers for their generosity.  It was a fantastic effort and teamwork at its best– we know that it will truly have ‘made a difference’ to many people’s lives.” Chris Morling, Head of Food Alliance at FareShare, added, “FareShare and the community organisations we support are incredibly grateful to apetito for the generous donation of frozen ready meals. This contribution will make a significant difference to those facing food insecurity across the UK. By providing nutritious meals, apetito is helping us support vulnerable people and the charities that work tirelessly to assist them. It’s partnerships like these that enable FareShare to continue our vital work in the community.”