24 November 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Castle Kitchens Send Out Meals to The Streets.
Checkatrade member supports homeless with 1900 meals
SUMMARY
When Sussex-based food manufacturer Castle Kitchens Ltd (www.castle-kitchens.com) found that they had a freezer full of in - date ready meals surplus to requirements, they began to think of ways of clearing them without adding to the food “waste mountain”. Instead, director Erica Sheward decided to donate all 1900 meals to Brighton-based charity Crossover, a division of City Coast Church (www.citycoastchurch.co.uk).
PRESS RELEASE
When Sussex-based food manufacturer Castle Kitchens Ltd (www.castle-kitchens.com) found that they had a freezer full of in - date ready meals surplus to requirements, they began to think of ways of clearing them without adding to the food “waste mountain”. Instead, director Erica Sheward decided to donate all 1900 meals to Brighton-based charity Crossover, a division of City Coast Church (www.citycoastchurch.co.uk).
Erica’s husband, Martin Plummeridge, runs The House Martin Painters and Decorators which is affiliated to anti –rogue trade organisation Checkatrade (www.checkatrade.com). He recalled a recent email he had received concerning the Checkatrade Charity Foundation. Said Erica, “We checked out the information about the charities supported by the foundation and we were pleased to see that one of the charities was based in Brighton. Not only that, they work with the homeless and disadvantaged in the City. We noted that they deliver hot meals to these people every week. As we already supply meals to the Brighton and Hove Meals on Wheels Service, it seemed like a match made in heaven”.
Erica contacted the Crossover team who were delighted and arranged for all 1900 meals to be collected for distribution. This donation will not be a “one-off” however as Erica explained, “We sometimes have “overruns” and it can be problematical shifting them. We intend to remain in contact with Crossover and will almost certainly be sending more meals their way in the future. It is nice to think that someone on a cold Saturday night is going to benefit from a nutritious, hot meal that would otherwise have been thrown away.”
Crossover director David Bolton said, “Our heartfelt thanks go to Castle Kitchens for this very generous gift. There are many needy people on the streets at this time of year, for whom a good nourishing meal is a rarity. This donation will ensure that they are given one regularly.”
Checkatrade founder and CEO, Kevin Byrne, when he heard the news, commented, “One of the things we like to encourage here at Checkatrade is partnership – between us, our members and the public. Now, through the Checkatrade Charity Foundation, links are being forged between our members and those who are supporting people in need, whether it be orphans, people coping with life-threatening illness or the homeless. There seems to be a developing sense of community among our members who not only help each other with work, but look towards the needs of those less fortunate than themselves.”
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Checkatrade helps combat the UK's rogue trader problem by continuously vetting and monitoring local traders such as builders, plumbers and electricians. The idea was born in 1998 after a tornado hit the small West Sussex town of Selsey. Traders poured in from as far away as Liverpool and Manchester. Unfortunately, some ripped off the inhabitants of the town. Local businessman, Kevin Byrne, realised there was nowhere to check out the traders’ credentials and the company that became Checkatrade was formed.
Since then, Checkatrade has grown to include over 6,300 genuine trade members, growing by an average 120 new members every month, and, via the Royal Mail, distributes 5.9 million directories a year into communities throughout Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Dorset and Berkshire, while the website includes traders from across the UK.
CONTACT INFORMATION
PR / Marketing, Checkatrade
5 - 6 Sherrington Mews, Ellis Square, Selsey, West Sussex, PO20 0FJ
Tel: 01243 601234
Fax: 01243 601246
info@checkatrade.com
