150 nutritious meals donated to Kettering General Hospital staff, made with British produce!
Acres Insurance Brokers, national farm insurance specialist at Brigstock, Northamptonshire HQ, donates 150 meals to support local NHS
Wanting to do something to help during this ‘stay home – stay safe’ time is an overwhelming feeling for most of us. For the team at Acres Insurance Brokers, with its headquarters in Brigstock, Northamptonshire, having the option to work from their respective homes, created the opportunity to do something to help, for those not as fortunate.
With the cancellation of what would ordinarily have been highly attended agricultural events, the Acres team had already prepared food in the freezer. But, welcoming farm and rural clients to enjoy hot food at their exhibition marquee was no longer an option, so Acres decided to continue cooking, and donate full meals, using high quality British produce, to Kettering General Hospital (KGH).
Nigel Wellings, owner of Acres says, “I can’t imagine the strain that our doctors and nurses are under at this time. It is unimaginable to face such a continuous threat. If a hot meal can in any way give a moment of relief, then it’s the least we can do.”
Alexandra Wellings, a local councillor at Corby Borough adds, “These are times when we feel a deep sense of care, preparing the meals was a good outlet for the goodwill, it’s as if we are willing each person that eats the food to stay strong and know we appreciate them.”
Initially Alexandra contacted Jayne Chambers of KGH to propose the idea of individually boxed, microwavable meals and Jayne said, “We would be absolutely honoured to accept your generous offer.”
Alexandra says, “We wanted to be sensitive to differing diets and food preferences, so we made sure that the meals also suited KGH staff who require Gluten free, Vegetarian or Vegan food.”
The menu:
- Egg and Bacon popovers, oven cooked potatoes, sweetcorn salsa
- Lamb stuffed pasta shells in a cheese and tomato sauce, rice, Mexican black bean stew, veg
- Beef stew, mashed potato, veg
- BBQ Brisket, tomato sauce, rice, veg
- Meatballs, rice, mash potato, veg
Vegetarian
- Quinoa and carrot patties, potato, lentil feta salad, veg
- Vegetable and nut stuffed pasta shells in a cheese and tomato sauce, rice, Mexican black bean stew, veg
- Salad bowl – lettuce, carrot, coleslaw, corn, lentil feta salad, nuts, seeds, humus, tortillas. With a cashew cream dressing.
Vegan
- Salad bowl – lettuce, carrot, coleslaw, corn, lentil salad, nuts, seeds, humus, tortillas. With a cashew cream dressing.
- Red lentil aubergine and mushroom stew, potato, rice, veg
- Split pea and red lentil red cabbage and tomato stew, rice, potato, veg
Jayne of KGH was pleased not only with the meals, but the packaging too. The fact that the food containers were recyclable and compostable was a thumbs up for KGH as they strive to address their carbon footprint. The containers were bought from Vegware, a British company based in Scotland.
The whole team at Acres feels a little better knowing they have done a small something to help, and would like to also say a big thank you to the country’s farmers for continuing to produce the high quality food, that they have been proud to serve.
Nigel concludes, “We know we are lucky, we have managed to continue to work and keep all staff healthy with no changes in remuneration during this lock down, and we continue to promote safe working practices.”
