We first met food waste charity Still Good Food in December 2023. They became the recipients of our annual ‘Pier Pledge’ donation, something we do in lieu of client Christmas cards and gifts. Our donation helped fund a Christmas Party for their wonderful volunteers, and as we learned more about them, we knew they were the perfect charity partner for us! A small charity, local to our roots in Suffolk, they aligned with our values around people and planet perfectly.
We have been thrilled to be a part of their journey in 2024 – providing them with some pro bono PR work as well as getting involved in volunteering and fundraising. We secured them an interview on BBC Radio Suffolk for Food Waste Action Week, coverage for their donation of gleaned apples to a local school, and were incredibly proud to help them announce their extremely well-deserved lifelong King’s Award for Voluntary Service in November 2024. What a way to end the year!
Still Good Food engages with supermarkets, smaller shops and wholesalers in their local area to arrange collection of the surplus food that would otherwise end up in landfill. They also operate a small but incredibly dedicated group of gleaning volunteers. Led by the amazing Roz Scott, who collaborates with farmers to arrange to visit their land following the harvest, the volunteers pick fruit and vegetables that have been left behind due to being not quite the right size/shape for the supermarkets, or where there is an excess. This rescued food (of which there was around 14.5 tonnes this year!) is sold in their two ‘pay as you feel’ shops, as well as being donated to food banks, churches, hostels, schools and other projects.
The Pier team have thoroughly enjoyed getting involved and raising funds for this incredible charity throughout 2024. Senior Account Manager Becky provided a helping hand in their Bury St Edmunds shop for the day, Operations Lead Lisa hosted a community coffee and raffle event at our Basepoint Ipswich HQ, and MD Amy braved the elements, rolled up her sleeves and got her hands dirty gleaning pumpkins! She was suitably rewarded for her efforts when she attended Still Good Food’s fantastic Pumpkin Dining Experience fundraiser, where Michelin starred chef Rowen Halstead created a superb three course meal using some of the rescued pumpkins.
In May, the whole Pier team took on the challenge of collectively completing a virtual journey of 417 miles in a month – the distance between the two furthest piers in the UK; Saltburn Pier in Yorkshire and the Prince of Wales Pier in Falmouth. The team did not disappoint, absolutely smashing the challenge and covering over 1,000 miles!
Our fab clients also contributed, by completing our annual client survey in return for a donation to Still Good Food.
The decision to partner with this remarkable charity for another year in 2025 was an easy one. They are a wonderful group of dedicated people, doing incredible work for the environment and the community, and it was our absolute pleasure to give our annual ‘Pier Pledge’ donation to them once more in December 2024.
After a fantastic year for them, we are excited to see what 2025 brings!
Lisa Smith – Operations Lead
For more information about Still Good Food, their shops, or how you can help by donating or volunteering, please visit their website.
