Supporting the Community

With a vision to minimise waste, a desire to support worthwhile charities and an acknowledgement that we are privileged to eat well each day, the Catering Department have put in place a number of initiatives to support the local community:

The College Cafe stocks and sells JubyLee Bakes - a baking business set up and run by young adults with special needs. Chefs from our catering team visit every half term to offer support and learn a few baking secrets along the way!

Any surplus sandwiches and cakes are donated to Bentswood Hub in Haywards Heath and Crawley Open House.

50 Roast chicken dinners were donated to the local village at Christmas through the Ardingly Connected Together support group (ACT).

No Dessert Tuesdays once every half term saves £500. The money saved on not providing a dessert to the College community is shared between Ardingly Food Hub and Haywards Heath Foodbank.

Various catering equipment is regularly donated to local hospices and charities.

Disposable items were donated to a charity in Crawley.

Aims

To support local charities.

To meet a need in the community.

To develop an awareness of the needs of others in our students.

To share our resources.

Impact

The ACT group use the 'No Desserts Tuesday' vouchers to replenish the food hub in the village and are extremely grateful for this additional sum.

Haywards Heath Foodbank reported that our vouchers are vital as they can restock most needed items rather than wait for actual food donations.

Bentswood Hub commented that the sandwiches are a welcome sight to their users and very much enjoyed.

A local family enjoyed a roast dinner on Christmas day instead of the chicken nuggets from the freezer.

The charity in Crawley did not need to buy any disposable items for 2 years which meant that they could focus entirely on food supplies.

Frequency

Ongoing.