On 13 October, visitors to The Alchemist’s Trinity and Greek Street venues will be able to donate unopened, in date, tinned dried and packaged food to Raise – St Anne’s Community Service in exchange for a free colour changing cocktail.
Now in its second year, the operator’s Swap Shop initiative seeks to raise awareness for rising national food poverty – an issue intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced 100,000 households to use food banks for the first time during lockdown, according to the Trussell Trust.
Foodbank usage is forecast to increase further over Christmas according to the charity.
Last year’s Swap Shop initiative prompted The Alchemist’s customers to donate in the region of 3,000 food items.
Need to support nw more than ever
The Alchemist has worked in tandem with Foodinate since May 2018, providing 65,000 hot meals to those in need off the back of guest donations over the past two years.
“We love the work carried out by Foodinate,” Hannah Plumb, culture and talent director at The Alchemist explained. “It’s a truly fantastic initiative tackling food poverty across the country which is an issue we’re passionate about at The Alchemist.
“The Swap Shop is a fun and engaging way to encourage customers to donate to their local food banks, who need our support now more than ever.”
As previously reported by The Morning Advertiser, The Alchemist recently embarked on a week-long programme to help re-establish its brand values among staff returning to work at its 19 sites across the UK.
The launch of its “Culture Shock” scheme encouraged meetings to drive change, updated staff benefits, charitable activations and a focus on sustainability as well as a forum for conversations on pressing issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement.
“We know what our main thing is but we don’t want to lose sight of our cultural compass – our local and global charity and community work is important to our teams and to our guests and, ultimately, what makes The Alchemist, The Alchemist – is our people,” Plumb said of the scheme.
