Working towards zero waste – The Community Fridge
At the start of this year we began a partnership with the fantastic people running the Community Fridge project at the Oasis Hub, Waterloo. Providing good food to those who need it the most, the overall aim of the project is to stop food poverty and stop good food going to waste. They give people a welcoming environment in which to eat with others in the community and take home food donated by a variety of stores and brands. At JGC our team now box up and label any unserved food from all our events and drop it directly at the fridge where it’s available to anyone who needs it.
The whole team has embraced this initiative and some of us have enjoyed volunteering there on Friday mornings at their breakfast café. Our Head of Sales, Andrew also ran the London Marathon in support of the project, raising £8k in the process.
Our Head of Sales, Andrew was so inspired by the amazing work done by the Community Fridge team that he chose to support them in this year's London Marathon. As well as sponsorship, Andrew fund-raised by tapping into the wider Jimmy Garcia Catering network and hosting a dinner. He was donated the wonderful Violin Factory venue by Milka and Louise, Liberty Wines donated the great wines and Event Hire donated all the crockery, glassware and cutlery, Jimmy donated the (amazing!) food and chefs, and 26 of Andrew's friends, family and clients generously donated money to be the guests! Andrew raised an amazing £8,000 for the Community Fridge Project. Oh, and he completed the marathon in a very speedy 3 hours and 34 mins!
After just 5 months, we have dropped off our 1000th meal at the Community Fridge – a bittersweet moment for sure. Whilst we’re delighted to be turning this negative into a positive by feeding those in need and minimising waste, this is a milestone that illustrates the wider issue of food waste and how much more could be done.
Find out more about the work of Di Blacker and the team at the Oasis Hub here.