Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Peterborough based Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited, the home of Hotpoint, Indesit, Whirlpool and KitchenAid brands, has continued to support FoodCycle by donating a number of appliances. FoodCycle is a charity that uses surplus food to create community meals to fight food waste, food poverty and loneliness across the UK.
Since its first cooking session in May 2009, FoodCycle has gone on to run 42 projects across England, each aiming to strengthen communities by bringing people together around a healthy meal. The outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020 meant that FoodCycle was forced to close the doors of its kitchens to the public, preventing the charity from hosting community meals for people at risk of food poverty and social isolation. In response to this, staff and volunteers at FoodCycle delivered over 65,400 food parcels throughout the pandemic, equating to an average of 2,500 deliveries each week, and benefitting around 6,000 vulnerable people across the country.
To support FoodCycle’s annual survey, which is designed to collect feedback from those who received the charity’s food parcel delivery support throughout the pandemic, Whirlpool UK donated 24 microwave ovens. Each participant that completed the survey was given the chance to win a freestanding Hotpoint microwave oven (MWHF 201 B), which was donated by Whirlpool UK.
The freestanding Hotpoint microwave oven (MWHF 201 B) benefits from an impressive 20 litre capacity and Hotpoint’s innovative Flat Bed Technology, which allows users to position several dishes of different shapes and sizes in the microwave oven at the same time. Not only this, the microwave oven does much more than just reheating and defrosting, with a multitude of clever technologies that enable users to cook perfect dishes quickly and easily. With up to 25 automatic programmes, the AutoCook Function enables users to cook tasty meals at the touch of a button, while the cooking time and power level are automatically set to perfectly prepare a variety of meals without any hassle. The microwave ovens were donated to provide FoodCycle recipients, many of which have limited cooking facilities, somewhere to effortlessly prepare nutritious meals.
The results of FoodCycle’s annual survey demonstrate how much of a difference the charity made to its community throughout the pandemic, with 92 per cent reporting that the food parcels delivered by FoodCycle helped them access food*, while 83 per cent stated that they ate more fruit and vegetables thanks to the charity’s deliveries*. Not only this, according to those that completed the survey, one parcel typically provided three days’ worth of food*, ensuring they were able to prepare healthy, nutritious meals for themselves and for their families.
Whirlpool UK further supported FoodCycle during the Covid-19 pandemic by donating appliances to a number of the charity’s projects across the country. A Hotpoint freestanding freezer (UH8 F1C W UK.1) was donated to FoodCycle’s Salford Langworthy project in Manchester, while the charity’s project in Kingstanding, Birmingham received the Hotpoint Active Four Door fridge freezer (HQ9 M2L UK).
Enabling staff and volunteers to keep food fresh while preparing and organising food parcels, the Hotpoint Active Four Door fridge freezer (HQ9 M2L UK) offers an impressive 593 litre capacity, along with flexible and adaptable storage solutions and innovative technologies that encourage long-lasting freshness. Ensuring the very best preservation for both fresh and frozen foods, the fridge freezer benefits from the Super Cool refrigeration and Active Freeze features, which promote the best storage conditions and help to reduce avoidable food waste.
These appliances were donated in order to provide FoodCycle with a place to store both fresh and frozen produce used to feed those who otherwise would not have access to food. Whirlpool UK also made donations to a further two FoodCycle projects in Birmingham.
In recent weeks, Whirlpool UK also donated around 100 gift boxes to FoodCycle’s Peterborough project, containing a range of items including chocolates, tea and biscuits. Staff and volunteers will distribute the boxes to vulnerable members of the local community throughout the Easter period.
Ian Moverley, Public Affairs Director, Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited says: “Existing challenges surrounding food poverty across the UK have, for many, been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, therefore the pivotal work that FoodCycle does is more important than ever. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to support FoodCycle and its community projects, and we hope that our donations will assist the charity in reaching more people in need.”
Victoria Meier, Head of Fundraising, FoodCycle says: “We are extremely grateful for the donations made by Whirlpool UK. At FoodCycle, we support some of the most vulnerable people in our society and the outbreak of Covid-19 has hit our community particularly hard. The generous donations made by Whirlpool UK will not only support our projects operating throughout the country in feeding vulnerable people, but we also hope that the microwave ovens donated will help to improve our recipients’ cooking facilities at home.”
For more information on FoodCycle, please visit the website at www.foodcycle.org.uk
Ends
Image captions:
- Ian Moverley, Public Affairs Director, Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited
- Whirlpool UK donated the freestanding Hotpoint microwave oven (MWHF 201 B) to a number of FoodCycle survey participants as part of the charity’s annual survey
- Whirlpool UK also donated the Hotpoint Active Four Door fridge freezer (HQ9 M2L UK) to the FoodCycle project in Kingstanding, Birmingham
Notes for editors:
* FoodCycle Annual Guest Survey, conducted during 2020
About Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited:
Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited is managed by Whirlpool EMEA, part of Whirlpool Corporation, the world’s leading kitchen and laundry appliance company.
Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited fully supports the AMDEA safety initiative, Register My Appliance, and is committed to encouraging householders to register their appliances: www.registermyappliance.org.uk
About Whirlpool Corporation:
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is the world’s leading kitchen and laundry appliance company, with approximately $19 billion in annual sales, 78,000 employees and 57 manufacturing and technology research centers in 2020. The company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, JennAir, Indesit and other major brand names in nearly every country throughout the world. Additional information about the company can be found at whirlpoolcorp.com.
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31st March 2021