Please help us raise money to buy more food so we can reach those who are more isolated, and those within the community who are currently homeless.
Through our new partnership with Helping Hands Suffolk, we are now able to reach those within the community who don't have an address. This is a particularly difficult task for us without their offer to facilitate, as our service is now completely online due to the pandemic. But this isn't going to stop us! We have already donated food we have bought from Fareshare and we would like to continue that support for the homeless, by working in partnership to reach those who would otherwise miss out on our support. Including those in further to reach places within Suffolk. Your contribution will make a huge difference. As every penny we raise will go on purchasing more surplus food otherwise destined for landfill; food that has a hugely negative effect on the planet if not rescued from going to waste.
Background:
The Teapot Project has been a well known lifeline to many vulnerable groups in Suffolk. Founded in 2015, it served to help set up much of the local infrastructure required to save edible surplus food from landfill, and distribute it to charities through a shared value scheme.
After a successful 4 years, the project was able to hand over the reins to 3rd sector charities and support them in a background role. However, the project rapidly resurrected in order to rescue food destined for waste, largely due to forced restaurant closures as a result of isolation measures. After saving thousands of kilos of from restaurants such as Nando's, and local butchers, such as Proctor's Sausages in the first few months of the pandemic, the team quickly identified a growing need within Suffolk, for healthy and affordable food as they continue to brace for the ongoing effects of the virus pandemic.
We offer a pay as you feel scheme, so you pay what you feel you can afford, or what you feel our service is worth. If you can afford to pay, your financial contribution will help sustain us, and offset those who can't.
Where we are now:
Over 6540 boxes delivered so far (and counting)
Over 54,000 kilos of surplus food saved from landfill (and counting)
Over 26,000 miles across Suffolk reached (and counting)
Can you believe it’s been a whole year since the project reinvented itself as part of Suffolk’s Covid crisis response? And we’re still fighting the impacts of Covid within the community today.
While rescuing food isn’t new to us, I don’t think any of us could have predicted this time last year, that we would still be sending out emergency food within the community. To those who have lost their work, their businesses and those who are medically vulnerable and so shielding, we hope we’ve made your life just a little easier.
We know the real heroes are those fighting illnesses such as Covid within our beloved NHS every day —we certainly haven’t found a cure for anything, but we hope that our response to last year's events has brought at least some relief to families across Suffolk. And we hope we’ve spread a little community spirit, some nutrition and lots of love!
We hope you can help us spread some more, especially to those who are vastly more vulnerable and isolated. And a huge thanks to everyone who has supported us this far! Thanks to many of you, we've been able to build a walk-in fridge, and even purchase a refrigerated van!