Weldmar Hospicecare have a talented catering team who prepare bespoke meals for patients at our Inpatient Unit, considering their special dietary requirements, likes and dislikes. The team not only work hard to prepare high quality food for patients, staff and visitors, they are also working hard to reduce food waste.
Did you know? 36 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emission could be prevented by saving food in UK homes!
Weldmar partners with FareShare, the leading food repurposing charity in the UK. FareShare believe that no good food should go to waste, and redistribute surplus food to charities that turn it into meals. Current regular FareShare partners who donate to Weldmar include ASDA Stores, Booker Wholesale, Nando’s and a new addition KFC.
Every day the main kitchens at the Inpatient Unit repurpose suitable donated items to create snacks, sandwiches, desserts, and a range of freshly prepared staff & visitor meals in the Orangery restaurant. The income raised from the sale of these goods is used to purchase luxury food items and treats for our patients, both at the Inpatient Unit and for those using our Wellbeing Support Sessions, which wouldn’t normally be part of the menu.
Andy Jackson, Hotel Services Manager at Weldmar, is passionate about reducing food waste where possible. He said “Weldmar have partnered with organisations to repurpose food and avoid waste for more than 8 years, we have saved several tonnes of good surplus food from being land filled. It’s a really good feeling to know that 90% of the ingredients in the curry sold at our large events is from donated stocks, and a great deal of food at our AGMs and volunteer events.”
“It does take a great deal of skill, imagination and labour to repurpose the donated food, it’s not always the cheapest option, but it is morally the right thing to do when practical.”
“In the current climate food waste of any kind should be minimised as long as it doesn’t compromise quality or safety of food. If careful food can still be eaten safely after it its best before date, you can use the home food fact checker available from the Food Standards Agency.”
