Editor’s Choice Winner At National Recycling Awards 2020!

We are delighted to have been announced Editor’s Choice winner at the National Recycling Awards 2020 for our initiative #PoweringtheNHS.

MRW created this new award to recognise the exceptional way the recycling and waste industry responded to the coronavirus pandemic and to celebrate the achievements.  The winner was announced at the National Recycling Awards 2020 on 27^th January 2021 at a virtual event attended by many industry peers.

Our initiative #poweringthenhs involved us working in collaboration with London Irish Rugby Club to prepare, cook and deliver over 50,000 meals to 19 different hospitals and organisations within London. This was our small way to ensure the health and wellbeing of our NHS staff who work so tirelessly on our behalf battling this terrible disease.

The National Recycling Awards Judging Panel 2020 commented: “We received many fantastic entries for this Editor’s Award. We want to commend all of those entered and I am delighted to announce Powerday as the winner.  We were impressed with the company for bringing together clients and contacts, utilising the skills and facilities they had available and offering real practical support to front line NHS staff.”

Edward Crossan, Vice Chairman, comments: “When the pandemic emerged, we were desperate to help the true heroes, those working on the frontline.  Providing them with nutritious hot meals at such a challenging time was the least we could do. Our work in the community is hugely important to us and to have this recognised with an award is a fantastic honour, everyone invovled worked so hard and we are so proud. We would also like to congratulate all winners and runners up at this year’s awards.  Our industry should be proud of all our achievements at this difficult time.”

We are committed to using our sustained growth to support our local communities.  We recently announced that our latest Social Value Portal report showed we created over £9million social value in our financial year 2019/20 that is 22p for every pound our clients spent with us.

 

How #PoweringtheNHS began

In March 2020, with London at the epicentre of the UK’s coronavirus outbreak, we were desperate to help frontline workers heroically working round the clock yet struggling to purchase food from supermarkets.  We teamed up with London Irish Rugby Club, of which we are principal sponsor, to deliver free meals to hospitals across the Capital.

Chefs at London Irish’s Sunbury training ground, who normally cook for the squad, produced nutritious hot meals, catering for various dietary requirements, food allergies and intolerances.  These meals were then delivered to care facilities and hospitals by our team as well as staff and players from London Irish.  By the end of the first week, we had delivered 3,060 meals to 11 hospitals and hospices.

Our Covid-19 initiative grew

We encouraged clients and other contacts to get involved and support the initiative.  Some donated food and catering products, others donated money towards buying produce and covering the cost of the operations.  Our kind clients, suppliers and other contacts helped ensure our initiative could continue for the whole of the first lockdown period.

In June, we were joined by HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex.  The members of the Royal Family volunteered their time, helping with the labelling of food boxes and the preparation of meals, before delivering to Frimley Park Hospital – including the 50,000th meal of the campaign.

What we achieved in eleven weeks

Messages of thanks poured in over social media from staff appreciating a healthy hot meal during or after a long shift including “Thanks for the delicious beef burrito.  I demolished it at the end of my 12-hour Covid-ICU shift!  From a very grateful ICU doc.”

In eleven weeks, over 50,000 meals were delivered to 19 different hospitals and organisations helping to ensure the health and wellbeing of NHS staff while they do the same for us.  Operations were halted when London Irish resumed playing and required the kitchens to feed players.