The Greggs Foundation, the independent charity associated with Greggs, is proud to announce its support of national charity Meals & More with a grant of £28,500

Since leading foodservice provider, Brakes founded Meals & More in 2015, the charity has supported over 2.5 million meals at holiday clubs across the UK. Thousands of children and families have benefited from healthy, nutritious food in safe and enriching environments during the school holidays when support for vulnerable children is needed the most.

Tracy Lynch, manager of the Greggs Foundation, commented: “Greggs Foundation is delighted to be supporting Meals & More. The charity has made amazing strides over the past few years to help reach children and young people dealing with issues related to food insecurity. Its ethos and mission align closely with our own, to help ensure food is at the heart of the communities in which we serve.

“We will be working with Meals & More in the provision of breakfast or afternoon supper at clubs which will have a positive impact on alleviating hunger and supporting children and families during the school holiday periods.”

Peter McGrath, Operations Director at Meals & More, said: “We are delighted that Greggs Foundation has joined us on our journey to support children during the holidays. The need for support in many communities is growing. The leadership and team at Greggs Foundation are clearly passionate about our cause and their support will assist us in reaching even more children. The additional resource will assist many clubs in providing an additional meal be it at breakfast or prior to going home.”

The funding will support clubs based in the north-east, north-west, south-west, Yorkshire and Scotland.

Earlier this month, BFFF attended the latest Move to -15°C Members’ Meeting, at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.

The day began with site visits to Aviko’s french fry production and cold storage facilities, and the Wageningen University & Research campus. The meeting then continued with in-depth discussions on how to scale impact and increase member engagement across the cold chain. This included identifying opportunities to reduce energy use and costs within existing operational and regulatory frameworks (which the Coalition calls Every Degree Counts), and moving beyond controlled environments into real-world conditions to build a shared evidence base, support regulatory dialogue, and to demonstrate feasibility of -15°C. 

To explore opportunities for involvement or express interest in future pilots, or to join the Coalition and start making savings today, visit www.movetominus15.com

Brakes, the UK’s leading foodservice wholesaler, has launched ‘Countdown to Christmas’, designed to help operators to make the most of the festive period, with a range of new products, offers and supporting activity.

Spearheading the festive campaign are more than 130 new lines with everything from premium desserts including a Chantilly Patisserie Jaffa Orange Dome to innovative ingredients like Browns BBQ Shredded Turkey and Cranberry. There is also a new range of Christmas-focussed tapas-style sharing dishes to help operators capitalise on the trend of social eating.

With more than 1,000 products in the Christmas range, covering a comprehensive selection of seasonal essentials from fantastic food to festive favourites like crackers, there is a range of products to suit a wide variety of menus, dietary requirements and venues.

Brakes has also created some useful guides on its website helping chefs to carefully plan the run-up to Christmas to ensure that they can maximise the festive period.

Helping chefs to put together cost-effective, perfectly paired menus, there are a number of 70% margin costed set meals to suit a range of budgets, including traditional, gastro, vegan and gluten free.

As part of its support programme, Brakes will also be providing a wide range of market-leading cashback, link and save and festive giveaways to return value to customers through mybrakes rewards. It will also see the return of its popular ‘Meat & Vodka’ deal offering a free bottle of Smirnoff Vodka with the purchase of certain meat products.

Paul Nieduszynski, CEO of Sysco GB, said: “A successful Christmas is critical for any food business, and our focus has been on making sure our customers can achieve that. From a wonderful array of new products to comprehensive guides on how to plan and prepare the festive rush, we’ve created a Christmas package that will help customers win at Christmas.”

Specialist fresh produce supplier, Bidfresh, has moved Daily Fish from its Kings Cross base in North London to a new 24,298 sq ft state-of-the-art depot in Enfield.

The site, now fully operational, is designed to deliver faster, more reliable logistics across London, helping chefs receive the freshest fish at the highest quality. The move also represents a significant investment in sustainability, customer engagement and capacity for growth.

The Enfield depot includes modern preparation and filleting areas, improved storage and workflow, and facilities designed to boost capacity and efficiency while ensuring the highest levels of quality and consistency.

Sustainability is central to the building’s refurbishments, with solar panels, EV charging points to support a future electric fleet and LED lighting that has been fitted over a number of months to meet the needs of the business.

A new customer experience centre will open on site in early 2026, offering chefs an innovative space to collaborate with expert fishmongers and development chefs on menu planning, skills training, and market insights.

For its employees, the new depot provides a brighter, more comfortable working environment through its lighting and ergonomic design, while meeting health and safety standards. Importantly, there is no change to order processes for customers, who can continue to order in the same way as before.

Andy Farnworth, Managing Director at Bidfresh, said: “This investment marks an exciting new chapter for Daily Fish and Direct Seafoods. Enfield gives us a stronger base to grow, with modern facilities that support both our team and our customers.

“The new depot means we can deliver even fresher fish, more efficiently across London, while our customer experience centre will let us work more closely with chefs, supporting menu development, skills and creativity.

“At the same time, we’ve created a better place to work for our people and built a more sustainable operation. We’re proud to be moving towards a greener future for our business and our customers.”

Founded more than 30 years ago, Daily Fish sources fresh fish every day from Brixham, Peterhead, Cornwall and Billingsgate, and delivers up to six days a week to chefs across London.

ENDS.

The new address: Daily Fish Supplies, Unit 5, Enfield Distribution Park, East Duck Lees Lane, Enfield, EN3 7SR.

Website: www.dailyfishsupplies.co.uk

Pacific West is thrilled to announce its return to Lunch! 2025, the UK’s premier trade show for the food-to-go industry. The event, taking place on 24th and 25th September 2025 at ExCeL London, will see Pacific West at Stand L128, ready to present its latest innovations in the convenient and sustainable seafood sector.

The company’s presence at the show highlights its commitment to providing high-quality, protein solutions that meet the evolving needs of the food-to-go market. As a well-regarded trade-only event, Lunch! provides the perfect platform for Pacific West to connect with key decision-makers from cafés, coffee shops, food manufacturers, wholesalers and other food-to-go establishments.

Attendees visiting the Pacific West stand can look forward to discovering a range of delicious and responsibly sourced seafood products designed to elevate menus. The team will be on hand to demonstrate how their convenient solutions can help businesses streamline kitchen operations while offering customers tasty and ethical options.

Chef Steve Walpole will be preparing and serving a special menu, showcasing the Fully Cooked seafood range, that plays on current food trends. His creations will demonstrate the range’s incredible flexibility and creativity, highlighting how the products can be prepared to create high impact FTG solutions.

Among the exciting dishes being served at the stand are a Japanese katsu fish sando, posh coronation fish hot dogs, and our new AirCrisp prawns with Chef Walpole’s special recipe, all designed to showcase the versatility and deliciousness of the Pacific West range!

“We’re looking forward to being back at Lunch!,” said Martin Finegan, Managing Director at Pacific West. “It’s an excellent opportunity for us to showcase how our products can help businesses in the food-to-go sector meet the growing demand for convenient, high-quality, and sustainable food options. We’re looking forward to connecting with our peers and highlighting the benefits of our latest innovations.”

Pacific West invites all trade professionals to visit them at Stand L128 to sample their range and learn more about how their products can become a key part of their food-to-go offering.

For more information, visit the Pacific West website. Link to – https://pacificwestfoods.co.uk/serving-up-innovation-at-lunch-2025/

Prepared by Michelle Dalley, Umami Design for Food