Charity of the Month March – The Country Food Trust.

For March’s Charity of the Month, we have chosen a charity that produces top quality protein based food that is then donated to charities around the UK who feed people in need, The Country Food Trust. Saskia Ross who works at the trust gives us an insight into the charity and the great work they are doing to help people in need.

Can you please give us a brief overview of what your charity does and who it supports?

We are a registered charity founded in 2015 whose sole aim is to feed people in need. We do so by producing game based ready meals which we distribute to charities that hand out food to people in need. These meals are both tasty and high in nutritional value. We also buy and provide meats of all types to charities who cook for people in need. From inception we have supplied more than 1,850,000 meals. So far we have delivered our meals to more than 1,900 charities around the country either directly or through distribution charities like FareShare, The Trussell Trust, The Felix Project and City Harvest.

Where are you based?

We currently have four members of staff; Tim Woodward the CEO is based in Somerset  and Karen Everett who looks after our Supporter Relationships is based in London whilst in Gloucestershire we have our Business Manager Lucy Stevens and Fundraiser Saskia Ross.

How has the support provided by Lycetts helped you? Has it been used to support any specific projects or aims?

Lycetts provide continued support through our Key Supporter programme which has been invaluable and has been used to help us to feed children and their families in need with our lead free Venison Bolognese which we launched in October 2020. Also, Simon Landale, Director of Financial Services at Lycetts has been one of our brand ambassadors for three years.

How much have you been impacted by Covid-19?

Food poverty has increased significantly during Covid-19 with more than an estimated 8.4 million people in the UK now struggling to feed themselves and many having to decide between the basic necessities such as food, clothing and heating. We were overwhelmed with the generosity of the public when we launched our Covid-19 appeal last year and are proud to have been able to deliver over 1 million meals throughout the pandemic to date.

What are you future hopes and aims for your charity?

Our aim is to be able to provide 1 million meals a year to those in need in a sustainable manner and to do more to help children. Sadly, in the current environment the number of people in need is growing fast and the need for our help is growing exponentially. For those in need this has been a terrible pandemic; mentally, physically and financially.

Are there any opportunities for our employees to get directly involved with the charity?

We are always looking to recruit ambassadors who are happy to volunteer for us and to help raise additional funds, In addition, as Charity of The Game Fair 2021, we are currently recruiting an army of volunteers to help with the logistical side of the event. If you are interested in either of the above, please contact Saskia at saskia@thecountryfoodtrust.org.

Could you provide a quote/testimonial from an individual who has directly benefited from your work?

It is incredibly hard to get a quote directly from an individual who has received food directly from a charity or foodbank however, below are two recent quotes from food distribution banks who give our food to those in need:

Since inception in 2016, Devon & Cornwall Food Action (DCFA) have received a total of

56,600 meals donated by the CFT and Alan Dunne commented:

“I am absolutely delighted to receive delivery of this meat here today; it will make a huge difference as we fight hard to support the vulnerable in our area. In November we received 9,440 game based ready meals from the Country Food Trust, so with today’s delivery this means we will have supplied 18,940 meals this winter to those in food poverty in Devon & Cornwall. I cannot thank all those at The Country Food Trust enough for helping us in these troubled times.”

How can people find out more about your work?

We are always delighted to speak to people interested in the Charity but in the first instance, do please visit our website www.thecountryfoodtrust.org or check out our socials:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thecountryfoodtrust/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-country-food-trust/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/CountryFoodTr

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thecountryfoodtrust/