FEA urges industry to walk together to raise money for Hospitality Action – and promises chocolate
The Commercial Catering Equipment Charity Walking Group are re-uniting to walk up Kinder Scout, in the Peak District. This is the follow up to their previous challenge, which saw them conquer Blencathra in the Lake District in September 2019.
The team is led by James Connolly of Celltherm Coldrooms and Nick Archer of Archer Catering Services. Once again they will be raising funds for Hospitality Action, which supports members of the hospitality Industry who have fallen on hard times. The team will head up Kinder Scout in the Peak District on Friday the 21st February 2020, leaving Edale Village at 9:30am after a bacon sandwich and a hot drink.
The last walk in the Lake District was a great success and Keith Warren, the chief executive of FEA, the Foodservice Equipment Association (formerly CESA), has given the latest event his organisation’s full support. “I am delighted with this initiative that is focussing on our industry’s mental health and wellbeing. FEA will be actively encouraging our members to get involved. In fact I’ll be popping along myself in February, having enjoyed last year’s walk – I’ll also bring supplies of chocolate!”
The Kinder Scout walk will re-enact the Mass Trespass back in 1932. This walk was the initial act of defiance against aristocratic landowners which helped to open up swathes of wild land to walkers, ramblers and the general public without fear of prosecution.
“The walk is about 8 ½ miles and will be over 2,200 feet high. It should take us about 4-5 hours, but there is no time limit and the team welcome walkers of all ages and abilities,” says Nick Archer. “We wait for everyone and there’s no rush, but please come prepared!”
Nick points out that holding the walk on a Friday, and staying overnight in Glossop afterwards, lets bosses give their staff a day off to attend the walk, or even organise their own team building day within this event.
Previous walks have drawn wide ranging attendance from not just manufacturers but also kitchen houses, distributors and foodservice consultants. Offers of support have been pledged from Celltherm Coldrooms, Falcon Foodservice, Archers Catering Systems, Blue Seal, FEA and Essential Supplies to name but a few.
“These walks are about improving the health and wellbeing of our industry,” says James Connolly. There’s no mandatory fee and no commitment to raise funds, but the team are asking for donations via their fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kinder-scout-challenge-2020
Anyone wanting to join the group are asked to email James or Nick on james@celltherm.co.uk or nick@archercateringsystems.com for further information. The group have also started a LinkedIn page for those wishing to keep in touch with future challenges and events. Click on this link to visit he page and request to join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8839711/
The Foodservice Equipment Association (FEA) is the authoritative voice of the foodservice equipment industry, representing 200 companies who supply, service and maintain all types of commercial catering equipment – from utensils to full kitchen schemes. For more information on FEA visit www.fea.org.uk (or www.cesa.org.uk before March 1 2020).