Pie boss: ‘I'll help firms over foodbank hurdles’
Tim Storer said he was willing to help firms of a similar size work with outfits such as FareShare and FoodCycle amid reports that manufacturers were lagging behind retailers when it came to supporting their endeavours.
FoodCycle chief executive Kelvin Cheung recently said it was often complicated and difficult to get deals in place directly with manufacturers because of health and safety, labelling and brand protection challenges.
While acknowledging these problems existed, Storer said they could be overcome.
‘Cost of disposing’
“If there is the will, they can be overcome. After all, you have to understand there is a cost of disposing of these goods anyway,” he said.
“I, personally, would be very happy to speak to firms of a similar size, even other pie makers, to show how we have been able to accommodate organisations such as FareShare.”
Last year Pukka Pies donated 60,000 pies to FareShare with Storer arguing that it was an efficient way of helping good causes.
“I can give money, and I do, to a variety of causes, but if you look at the amount of bang you get for your buck, working with FareShare is very successful,” he said.
‘Ridiculously low cost’
“We are feeding lots of people at a ridiculously low cost. You could get £20 out of your wallet now and not spend it as effectively as I do with FareShare.”
Storer, who was speaking at the firm's 50th anniversary celebrations at its factory in Syston, Leicestershire, played down any concerns food manufacturers might have about brand protection when it came to donating to foodbank organisations.
“The last thing we want is our product seaping out of the sides and being sold as seconds, but we know that won't happen,” he said.
“Manufacturers should want to be associated with schemes like this. The pies we donate are slight seconds in terms of appearance. They have to go somewhere, because we won't sell them, and we believe they should go to help people in need.”
Pukka Pies sells 60M pies a year to retail, foodservice and sports stadium customers and employs 300 people.
Products are available in the UK and mainland Europe.
