Feeding communities and supporting partners - a City Pantry story

Care, compassion and inspirational deeds of service within communities have been the focus of many companies and individuals from the Hospitality industry during this most difficult of times.

City Pantry, a company which started in 2014 with the aim of connecting offices and corporate customers to restaurants and caterers across the UK. Until recently City Pantry feeds more than 120,000 people at over 1000 companies every month operating in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Reading.

As a result of Covid-19, they have been forced to transform their ways of working but still remain focused on supporting their partners and creating positive change whilst providing invaluable support to those in need and vulnerable in society.

Continuing to work with a range of partners from restaurants and caterers to delivery providers, customers and charity organisations to come together and help support and feed various communities during the coronavirus pandemic. So far, many of their customers have already donated over 1500 meals to those in need in shelters, care-homes, as well as front-line workers and NHS staff.

To facilitate a positive impact where it is needed most, City Pantry have partnered with City Harvest and NHS to redistribute donated meals to help the hungry and support hospitals in West London.

Meals that are donated by customers are distributed to a variety of charity partners which include:

■ City Harvest - through along-standing relationship, City Pantry have donated over 2000 individual meals tohelp feed the hungry as well as one of their electric delivery vans to helpwith collecting and distributing donated food.

■ Working closely with the NHS and catering partners such as ByChloe, The Lebanese Bakery, DominiqueAnsel Bakery and Cafe Route, City Pantry have createdspecial lunch packages that have been pre-approved for delivery to hospitals.These packages are easy-to-eat while on-the-go, healthy and nutritious andenjoyed by frontline staff  at the following hospitals:

■ Hammersmith Hospital (Imperial College NHS Foundation Trust)

■ Chancery Lane Hospital (Imperial College NHS Foundation Trust)

■ St. Mary’s Hospital (Imperial College NHS Foundation Trust)

■ Nightingale Hospital

■ North Middlesex Hospital

■ St. Thomas’ Hospital

■ Chelsea & Westminster Hospital

■ University College Hospital

■ Evelina Children’s Hospital

■ Great Ormond Street Hospital

■ Homeless shelters in Victoria, Walthamstow, Clerkenwell and Limehouse have needed substantial support during this time and City Pantry have been able to distribute hundreds of items of food, as well as meals to at-risk communities in shelters across London. Recently a well-received delivery of 60 pizzas, donated by their restaurant partner ICCO was delivered to a shelter in Wandsworth.

City Pantry is passionate about serving those vulnerable and in-need within communities and the NHS and they continue to identify more opportunities to help feed front-line and at-risk communities, from offering 50% group orders for all NHS workers to distributing any surplus or leftover stock from restaurant and catering partners.

"It’s fantastic working with City Harvest and other partners to find a valuable home for the surplus stock our restaurants have right now. Delivering hundreds of pizzas to front-line staff and tonnes of ingredients to kitchens in shelters - everyone’s coming together to make it happen and ensure there’s no waste.”Mike, Head of Operations, City Pantry

“We serve thousands of vulnerable Londoners, and since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have seen the need for our services skyrocket. We have taken on 3 new drivers and are working overtime to get surplus food to the most vulnerable.” Francesca Santucci, City Harvest

Now more than ever, during these challenging times, we are all looking at how we can support one another, from front-line workers and at-risk individuals to volunteers and small/local businesses. By coming together as a community and an industry, working in unison with numerous partners, we can help make a positive and sustained difference and help #feedyourcommunity.