The Zip Slide Challenge!

FareShare North West went bananas last Saturday, taking a leap to help end food poverty in the North West

What a day!!!

Over 100 people in a variety of costumes leapt off the Imperial War Museum North for fun and to support those in need. From the 30 metre high tower at the museum many brave (and some very scared!) individuals launched themselves 250m across the Ship Canal back onto solid ground outside the Salford Lowry.

Despite Manchester’s attempts to spoil our fun with some occasional and distinctly heavy rain showers, some adventurous folks even zipped twice!

And we did indeed go bananas!!

Lucy Danger – the CEO of EMERGE was first to leap and Nicola Milner—EMERGE volunteering co-ordinator and volunteers/colleagues sported banana outfits in keeping with the theme ‘no good food should go to waste’.

Why bananas?

Because they’re a really great example of a nutritious, healthy food! Sadly, when they go brown they often get wasted when they could be easily made into a smoothie or a nutritious loaf!

Our “Love Food Hate Waste” themed cookery demonstrations by Robert Owen Brown (Head Chef,  Mark Addy) – Tripe, Bone Marrow and Black Pudding and Wood Pigeon, Dave Lythall (Head Chef, Lime) – Sea Bass on Potato  and Black Pudding and Cracking Good Food – Risotto and Curry, a local charity promoting healthy sustainable eating.

So why did we do it?

As FareShareNW Director Lucy Danger explains:

“Diverting edible food from landfill and helping to alleviate food poverty is a no-brainer! We’ve run the Zip Slide Challenge to give people an opportunity to have fun whilst helping us to do more to help those in food poverty locally.”

Many members of the public, organisations and businesses signed up to Zip, including Manchester’s famous pub-restaurant The Mark Addy and Lime on Salford Quays. They support us because they believe that FareShareNW is a great charity, addressing two of the UK’s most urgent issues: waste and food poverty.

Robert Owen Brown, Head Chef of The Mark Addy said:

"It’s nonsensical. But the fact is, perfectly good food ends up going in the bin when it doesn’t needs to and something needs to be done about it."

“Being a chef you’re on the front line of food wastage.” Rob explains, “We’ve all been guilty of it, but by supporting FareShare and raising awareness of what this fantastic charity does, I’m just doing my little bit – everyone should!”

Organisations such asCornerstones providing hot meals to people on very low incomes in Moss Side, Mustard Tree who operate a soup run for the homeless and the George House Trust who help refugees, are typical beneficiaries of FareShareNW; other examples include hostels, school breakfast and after school clubs in deprived areas, day centres for the sick, elderly and infirm, organisations helping the vulnerable and those in poverty.

The zip slide has been a great help to supporting FareShareNW and in turn those that it supports. Since 2008, FareshareNW has redistributed over 650 tonnes of food which is enough food for 1.5 million meals to those in need in our region.

A HUGE thank you to everyone involved from the organisers, Zip Slide UK, the chefs, the Manchester School of Samba and finally THE ZIPPERS THEMSELVES!!!

For more photos of the day, click here

Ed