GIVING BACK

 
 
Working with charities is something that everyone wants to do. Being able help those less fortunate is an action all business should be writing into their CSR (corporate social responsibility)
 
However, when business start sometimes the choice is between giving money to charity or paying your suppliers, then the suppliers win. This is the case for most independent start ups, where money is tight and revenues can be slow to grow.
 
So from the beginning we did what we could, working with suppliers and companies that have a sustainable ethos and work to help those that make, grow and sell their product and those that help in the community.
 

How we do our bit
 
The bottled water we stock in our Notting Hill branch is by Belu. They give 100% of its profits to Water Aid. This is an amazing international charity that is helping to ensure everyone has access to clean, safe drinking water.
 
We are part of the Sustainable Restaurant Association which is continually developing projects to help restaurateurs, as the influencers of the food we eat and desire , to send a positive message to the public. Initiatives like the Kids Veg Out scheme and a commitment to reducing food waste is our way of ensuring standards are met not just in our restaurants but across the industry.
 

Waste in the restaurant industry is a big issue. An eye watering with 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year world wide* . Food manufacturing and supermarkets carry most of this. However, where we can make a difference is through using smaller suppliers with ethical traceability and looking at how we manage our daily surplus food. We use Karma to try and ensure good food never goes to waste. Karma is trying to help restaurants use up spare food before the end of the day to stop access food going in the bin!  (See blog post)
 
It is all the little initiatives that will help make a big difference and we can all be responsible for making a change!
 
We have been trading for almost 5 years now and this year started our own charity initiative through our filtered water. We are so lucky to have safe drinking water in the UK, however it is not without a range of added chemicals such a chlorine, fluoride and trace heavy metals that do build up in our bodies over time and to what effect we cannot be certain yet. That said a good filtration system can remove many of these trace elements and we believe it’s a far nicer and safer water to drink. We have filtered still and sparking water on tap and offer refillable bottles to customers. 75p from every bottle goes to a staff nominated charity every quarter and its our way of helping to give back a little to projects that mean a lot to our staff.
 
First up for our Covent Garden restaurant was Battersea Cats and Dogs home. They are one of the oldest animal shelters in the UK and do amazing work rehoming and rehabilitating cats and dogs of all ages and breeds.

We love a cute Instagram picture of an adorable dog, however this has created a rise in demand for puppies and ‘pretty’ dogs leaving shelters full of older, mix breeds that don’t look so cute on camera (well we think they do!) This is extremely sad and a should not be the reason that an animal joins your family. The work they do is crucial, they never put a dog down and will keep an animal until they have found its forever home.
 
Such an amazing charity that we were super happy to help!
 
Keep an eye on our Instagram for the next Charity nominated by our Shoreditch team in October.

#animalrescue #charity #compassionateliving #dogrescue #veganlifestyle #sustainablerestaurant
 
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Leticia from our covent garden site, nominated battersea cats & dogs home