Photo caption: Chaka Brown, Telesales Leader and Tania O’Connor, Telesales Manager from Bidfood in Slough and Luke Dalley Regional Account Manager from Tilda.
This month, local foodservice provider Bidfood in Slough, teamed up with top selling rice brand, Tilda, to host a special winter warmer meal for the Slough homeless community. The initiative supported the Slough Homeless Our Concern charity (SHOC), and saw over 35 local people come to the Serena Hall shelter to enjoy a well-deserved hot meal. Bidfood and Tilda provided all the food and drinks for the day to cook a delicious Indian inspired meal for the homeless to enjoy. Employees from both companies took time out of their working days to support the charity, from cooking, serving, to cleaning and clearing up. Serena Hall is a SHOC day centre that supports homeless or vulnerable adults in the local community. The dedicated team provide regular housing assistance for those who need it, advice and support for those with health problems or substance misuse, as well as a vast range of training courses to help their guests learn valuable skills. Talking about the initiative, Tania O’Connor, Telesales Manager at Bidfood in Slough, said: “As the weather starts to get colder, it is the most important time of year for supporting local homeless communities. “People get so wrapped up in their own lives during the festive season, and can easily forget about those who aren’t as fortunate as we are, which is why it’s important for me and Bidfood as a business, to give back to those who really need it at this time of year. “Just being at the shelter for a day is a real eye opener as to how lucky we really are and how important it is that we come together to do our bit to help those people in need.” As part of their ongoing efforts to support this local charity and the homeless community in Slough, employees at the depot are organising a large winter collection as part of Bidfood’s wider campaign to look after the homeless this winter. This campaign involves donating presents, providing shelters or food banks with Christmas supplies, cooking Christmas dinners for local homeless communities, as well as providing warm items to keep these people warm in the coming winter months. The business will be collecting items such as sleeping bags, winter coats and blankets, freezer suits from the depot that can withstand -24 degree temperatures, scarves, gloves and even feminine products. So far Bidfood in Slough have already collected over 10 large bin bags full of clothing and products, and are planning to continue collecting through Christmas and into the New Year. Talking about the day, Luke Dalley, Regional Account Manager from Tilda, said: “It was a pleasure to support Bidfood in their project to give something back to their local homeless community. “The experience was extremely humbling and something I will never forget; I wish them good luck in their coming winter campaign to support even more homeless communities this winter.” Speaking about the initiative, Chris Walkden, General Manager at Bidfood in Slough said, “Along with this great local initiative with Tilda, we are making it a priority to take part in Bidfood’s wider campaign to support the homeless this winter, and we are determined to collect even more bags of items than we have already donated.”