GWR donates food and drink to those most in need
Train operator GWR has donated almost £10,000 worth of on-board catering to a host of good causes across the Great western network including hospitals and food banks.
Train operator GWR has donated almost £10,000 worth of on-board catering to a host of good causes across the Great western network including hospitals and food banks.
Rather than let date restricted food and drink usually sold on board its trains go to landfill, GWR has offered it to those in need through its network of 3,000 front-line staff.Items include cake and biscuits and other perishable snacks, as well as just-add-water filter coffee cups, and recycled paper bags to help make-up food parcels.
GWR Catering Operations Manager Sarah Creaser explains:
“We have a number of colleagues across the business who are active in their local community who were asking what more they could do to help, and one of the ideas that regularly came up was to help provide food and drinks, from our on board snack range, to those most in need.
“Rather than let food go to waste, where we have been made aware of a requests for help we have been able to work with our partners at Rail Gourmet do so, supporting the communities we serve.”
Picking up on a request for help in South Wales, GWR was able to donate thousands of paper bags, contributing to wider efforts to feed people in Swansea.
Labour MP for Swansea East Carolyn Harris said:
“Thank you to all of the businesses including GWR who are continuing to help with our efforts to feed vulnerable people and local NHS workers in Swansea. Together with amazing individuals from across our community and Swansea Council we're helping to support people throughout this pandemic.”
To date GWR has contributed almost £10,000 worth of stock including providing cakes to Torbay General Hospital; thousands of tea cups and ready-to-use filter coffee cups to Cheltenham Hospital, as well as a variety of items to other worthy causes such as:
- South Western Ambulance Service
- North Bristol Food Bank
- Fareshare, various sites including, Bristol
- Roots Independent street team, Bristol
- Shekinah mission - Plymouth
- Derriford hospital - Plymouth
- Quwwat-al-Islam Mosque - Paddington
Great Western Railway (GWR) provides high speed, commuter, regional and branch line train services. We help over 100 million passengers reach their destinations every year - across South Wales, the West Country, the Cotswolds, and large parts of Southern England.
We’re currently seeing the biggest investment in the network since Brunel so we can offer more trains, more seats, and shorter, more frequent journeys and continue the network’s heritage of helping connect more businesses to new and prosperous markets. Through a series of initiatives we aim to be a good neighbour to the communities we serve and are committed to making a positive social impact in those regions. GWR is a FirstGroup company.