The meals were created by the producer’s culinary team in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, and will be distributed to local support groups around its factories – Good Morning Ballymena in Antrim, The Simon Community in Portadown and Armagh, STEP in Tyrone, and Via Wings in Dromore, Co Down.
Moy Park has built on its most recent wave of activity for the local community, where it donated more than 3,000 meals produced by the culinary team to be distributed by The Resource Centre.
Local producers Kerry Foods Portadown, Wilson’s Country, The Flavour Works, Irwin’s Bakery, Kendal Agencies, Griffith Foods, Newlywed Food and Daily Fresh have all donated ingredients to be used in the creation of these meals.
‘Outreach to vulnerable people’
Commenting on the donations, Moy Park’s head of culinary Aaron Dixon said: “Each of these organisations provides vital outreach services to the most vulnerable people in our local communities and we are keen to offer whatever support we can at this difficult time.
“We are so grateful to the ongoing generous donations from other food and packaging companies which are helping us meet the demand for extra meals. It great to see everyone – from local businesses to our own chefs, kitchen staff and volunteers – going the extra mile to support and protect vulnerable people.”
Arlene Irvine, accommodation manager at The Simon Community, said the donations had gone a long way to helping her team support individuals experiencing homelessness.
Building trust in the community
“For someone with limited funds, the gift of food means an awful lot and allows our staff to build relationships and trust with clients,” said Irvine.
“At our Portadown and Armagh projects, our on-site chefs are using the donations to keep clients fed and entertained by encouraging meal preparation participation. The development of such independent living skills help ensure that clients can maintain a tenancy moving forward.”
Meanwhile, food industry coronavirus support initiatives continue to build momentum, with a host of firms rallying to aid the vulnerable, NHS staff and their peers in the sector.
In addition to efforts announced by 2 Sisters Food Group, Arla Foods UK, Princes Group and Alpro, Food Manufacture presents a cross-section of examples of food firms going above and beyond to support the UK here.