Category: News

Coventry-based charity Feed The Hungry UK is appealing for local businesses to help fill a shipping container with enough food for children in Zimbabwe.

The new Boxes of Hope Campaign comes following a stark warning by the United Nations that over half of the nation’s rural population will be ‘food insecure’ by early next year. It comes in the wake of a food crisis that’s been exacerbated by a combination of recent weather extremes including extended droughts and soaring temperatures.

This Christmas, the humanitarian aid charity Feed The Hungry UK is asking businesses and organisations to respond to this crisis by filling a shipping container with enough food to provide 285,000 meals.

The challenge is for around 30 business partners to each raise £2,500 – enough money for 10,000 rice meals.

The Projects Director for Feed The Hungry, Gavin Kibble MBE, said: “We’ve worked in Zimbabwe for over 20 years and already have established feeding programmes in Harare. Because of the challenging conditions that have led to crop failure, we’ve started new programmes in more rural areas of Zimbabwe. Now, we’re regularly feeding 19,500 children every school day.

“These rice meals are cheap – just 25p per meal – but the mix of ingredients in each meal gives the carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals that a child needs to thrive. We’ve seen whole schools where malnutrition has been eradicated because the students are regularly eating this food. Businesses can give 10,000 of these meals for a donation of just £2,500.”

The Christian humanitarian organisation is regularly helping more than 485,000 children with meals, working with partners in 25 countries around the world to fight hunger due to poverty, war, famine and natural disasters. This is delivered home and abroad mainly through feeding programs and encouraging sustainability and Community Farming projects as well as holding packing events at the Halo Centre warehouse in Binley.

As part of the Boxes of Hope Campaign, for any company that can raise the money for the 10,000 meals, Feed The Hungry will come and run a food packing activity in which staff can pack the rice meals themselves. Packing 10,000 meals takes a team of 40 people around 2.5 hours.

Head of Fundraising for Feed The Hungry, Rich Smith, said: “We’re looking for companies of all sizes to take part. The donation for 10,000 meals doesn’t need to come from the business itself, but instead, we’d encourage staff to take part in fundraising as a team to raise the money. We’ve got online donation forms that can be set up for each company taking part so that you can see how much you’ve raised in real-time. And we’ve got loads of ideas to help you raise the money in enjoyable ways as a team.”

“Feed The Hungry run food packing events up and down the UK. We can come to your business and bring all of the equipment, ingredients and expertise so that your staff can help pack the meals that they’ve raised the money for. Meal packing is an amazing way for your staff to participate tangibly in helping to tackle world hunger, it’s a lot of fun and a great way to build your team.”

Organisations can contact the charity at: info@feedthehungry.org.uk or visit HERE to register interest and to get their own dedicated Boxes of Hope Donation Page for the company or team.

Find out more about Feed the Hungry’s work at home and abroad at: https://feedthehungry.org.uk/projects/

A Warwickshire distillery is celebrating a new partnership with two major local hospitality businesses.

Warwickshire Gin Company is producing white label gin for guests at Ashorne Hill learning and conference centre in Leamington as well as Delta Marriott Hotel in Warwick.

Owner Dave Blick said: “These white label projects give a unique element and deliver a very personal message to a business’s customers/guests.

“The RAF Royal Signals, Leamington Tennis Club, Leamington Polish Centre, Hansgrohe and Röhlig Logistics are also among a few of our completed projects. Customers can choose to add a variation of bottles or gift packaging with their own branding, we also offer a bespoke logistical solution to internal or external customers of the organisation.

“Bringing various projects to life for our customers is really great fun, promotes our distillery but also has great impact for the business/organisation which may be celebrating an anniversary, occasion or for brand awareness.”

Visitors to Ashorne Hill learning and conference centre, which offers over 40 meeting spaces set in 35 acres of grounds, are gifted 5cl miniature bottles of WGC’s Philosopher’s Daughter gin while Delta Marriott Hotel offers miniatures of the distillery’s signature Leamington On Parade gin.

Stuart Anderson, Executive Head Chef at Ashorne Hill, said: “The Warwickshire Gin Company helped bring The Taste of Ashorne Gin to life using botanicals from our estate. Dave and his team provided exceptional support throughout the development process, sharing their expertise to make the experience both enjoyable and seamless. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”

The four-star Delta Marriott Hotel also serves WGC’s award-winning Kingmaker Vodka behind its bar.

Jenny Heath, Director of Sales at Delta Hotels Marriott in Warwick, said: “Although our working relationship is quite new, the service I’ve received to date has been fantastic. We use the Warwickshire Gin Company for our corporate welcome gifts and also the Kingmaker Vodka and Gin in our aptly named Kingmaker Restaurant.”

The inspiration behind David’s drinks collection comes from a desire to capture a moment in history, developing flavours to fully represent the county’s own unique story and bringing the range of hand-crafted flavours to life.

As part of the continued chapter of growth for the ambitious entrepreneur, who established Warwickshire Gin Company in 2018, the new Lockhart’s mobile bar now also brings its range of drinks to private and public events. The huge 8x4m bar is designed to recreate the complete pub experience wherever it goes, including barrel tables and seating – a project that was supported by a council-backed duplex loan through Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust.

The distillery also offers popular visitor experiences – Gin Tasting, Cocktails at The Distillery and their new Afternoon Gin & Tea plus a range of build-your-own branded gift bundles, including spirits, goblet, mixers and gin or rum-infused chocolates.

Further information on how to hire Lockhart’s is available from David Blick at: dave@warwickshiregincompany.co.uk

The husband and wife owners of a south Warwickshire cidery which began life in their back garden 10 years ago, are celebrating a lucrative new deal with Ocado.

The signature range of drinks from Jolyon and Charlotte Olivier’s Napton Cidery can now be purchased through the giant online grocery retailer which delivers to 80% of the UK population.

The brand has also just been accepted on the inaugural Ocado Roots Programme, developed to showcase 100 new ‘challenger brands’ within the retailer’s range, available to small suppliers who are not yet listed with other major supermarkets.

It offers bespoke onboarding and training, faster payment terms, support from a dedicated Ocado Roots team and support network and free data from Ocado’s insights tool.

Drinks now available to purchase are 500ml Recipe No. 3 Slightly Sparkling 6% vol Smooth Dry Cider; Recipe No. 4 Slightly Sparkling 5.4% vol Bold Medium Cider; Recipe No. 5 Slightly Sparkling 3.4% vol Blackcurrant Cider; and Recipe No. 6 Slightly Sparkling 4.6% vol Refreshing Cider.

It’s a particularly proud moment for its owners Jolyon and Charlotte Olivier, whose, now multi-award-winning, business was inspired by a holiday in Cornwall.

Jolyon Olivier said: “When we began making cider from the apple tree in our back garden 10 years ago, we never imagined we would have it sold on Ocado, but it’s something we have worked really hard towards.

“This is an amazing stepping stone in the growth and expansion of Napton Cidery and we are so proud to have gotten to this stage as a small family-run business without ever compromising our values.

“We’ve managed to go from pressing 2,000 litres in 2015 to now producing over our 250,000 pints per year working alongside the natural environment rather than against it.

“Looking back at our origins and where we are today feels surreal, but incredible. We look forward to building a long-term relationship with Ocado.”

Today, the team, in Napton on the Hill, produces cider from six orchards across the Herefordshire region. They also produce barrel aged limited-edition ciders as well as gold medal-winning perry, apple brandy and vinegars.

Central to Napton’s growing popularity among customers is its strong sustainability ethos, from harvesting through to packaging. All of their fruit comes form bio-diverse and organic orchards and never made form concentrate. This helps support British farming and encourages a natural habitat for local wildlife. The sustainable packaging is 100% recyclable and all our power on the farm is generated from renewable energy. Napton Cidery is working towards a B-corp certificate to help promote our sustainable ethos and minimise carbon dioxide emissions for future generations.