A leading North West food producer has joined forces with two charities to support local communities during the coronavirus crisis.
European Freeze Dry, which produces freeze dried ingredients and meals from its factory in Preston, UK has donated 250kg of freeze dried produce, equivalent to 1,250kg when rehydrated, to FareShare and The Salvation Army to distribute to families struggling to feed their families during the pandemic.
The meals, which include Spaghetti Bolognese and Vegetable Tikka, have been freeze dried, meaning that they are tasty for up to seven years, while still containing the nutrition of the natural meals. Each meal remains stable at room temperature and simply requires water to rehydrate the product ready to be eaten.
The product was surplus from a previous order and has been diverted from becoming a waste product to create 2,650 meals.
Diana Morris, Country Manager UK at European Freeze Dry, said: “In addition to honouring our orders, we are also proud to be helping our local community where we can, ensuring that everybody can have access to good quality nutritious food at this time.
“All our products contain natural ingredients purely with the water removed, which means they can be kept in a cupboard for many years and only need rehydrating to become flavoursome and nutritious again.”
FareShare is the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors, made up of 17 independent organisations taking surplus food to almost 11,000 frontline charities and community groups.
Jeff Green, Centre Manager for Fareshare Lancashire and Cumbria run by the Recycling Lives Charity, said: “In recent weeks we have been inundated with increased requests to get surplus food to the vulnerable across our regions.
“We have been able to supply that demand through the efforts of our team because food suppliers like EFD and retailers have stepped up to get more food to us. We are incredibly grateful to EFD for their donation.”
Captain Dominic Eaton, joint leader of The Salvation Army Preston said: “Being based at the heart of the Preston community means that we can get essential supplies to those most in need through our food bank and donations from local companies really help us in our work.
“The generous donation from European Freeze Dry will help us provide so many with much needed food at these unbelievably tough times and help us meet the growing need in a safe way to support the vulnerable in this period of national crisis.”
