From Surplus to Sustenance: Supporting Local Communities and Tackling Food Waste

This Wednesday (29 April) is Stop Food Waste Day, an annual global day of action held to raise awareness of the 33 per cent of food wasted globally and educate people on reducing it.

In support of the Stop Food Waste Day initiative, we sat down with Neil Bell, Senior Account Manager at Hydram and a member of our ESG group to share details of our work to support The Bread and Butter Thing (TBBT). Which is a UK-based charity and mobile food club that provides heavily discounted groceries to low-income families and individuals, reducing food waste and tackling food insecurity.

How did Hydram become involved with The Bread and Butter Thing?
We were looking to partner with a local charity who were directly involved in supporting the local community. After reviewing several charities, we chose to partner with The Bread and Butter Thing due to the direct and positive impact that they have within the local community.

From our initial engagement with them we have been inspired by their hands-on approach and the tangible difference they make every day.

Why is the work they do important to Hydram?
At Hydram, we believe businesses have a responsibility beyond their core operations – to contribute meaningfully to the communities they serve. TBBT not only helps families access affordable food but also reduces food waste. They do this by partnering with supermarkets, factories and farms to intercept edible surplus food – often wasted due to mislabelling, oversupply, or a short shelf life – and redistributing it to community members. By supporting the charity, it allows us to be part of something that creates both social and environmental impact.

What impact has supporting The Bread and Butter Thing had on Hydram?
Through activities with TBBT, it has given employees an even stronger sense of purpose and pride in where they work. Whether through direct involvement or simply knowing the company is contributing to a worthwhile cause, it’s also sparked more internal conversations about sustainability and community engagement which is great. And off the back of this we’re continuing to look at ways we can get more of our employees engaged.

In what ways have you supported the organisation?
We have supported the organisation through a combination of practical and financial contributions. Which has included:

– Funding the purchase of 30 freezer boxes

– The purchase of uniforms for all of their staff

– Several volunteers from Hydram spending a day working on site at The Bread and Butter Thing

– Donating 100 Easter eggs

– Raising £226 from our Easter raffle

What more do you hope to achieve with The Bread and Butter Thing?
Looking ahead, we’d like to deepen our involvement and explore more ways to support their growth. This could include expanding our contributions, increasing employee participation, and helping raise awareness of their work to a wider audience. We would like to help them reach more communities and make an even bigger impact.

Jim Fieldsend, Philanthropy and Fundraising Lead at The Bread and Butter Thing commented on the partnership: “The support we’ve received from Hydram over the past six months has been nothing short of brilliant!

“Staff have taken time out of their busy work schedules to volunteer with our team in Chilton.  They’ve supported us financially through buying sets of essential uniform, and freezer boxes used to transport chilled food into the communities we serve. At Easter the team even organised a raffle to fundraise on our behalf and were even kind enough to donate 100 Easter eggs for us to give to families at our local food clubs.

“We can’t thank the Hydram team enough. This kind of support is so valuable to TBBT as we work to help more families in the North East who are struggling with the pressure of the cost of living, and to put good quality food on the table.

“We’re really grateful to the team at Hydram and look forward to continuing to develop our partnership in the coming months, so that together we can help improve more lives and build stronger communities.”

To keep up to date with our work with The Bread and Butter Thing follow us on LinkedIn.

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