Carluccio's raises £1.5m for Action Against Hunger
The brand announced that it has raised £1.5 million for humanitarian charity Action Against Hunger since it began supporting it in 2007.
The organisation is committed to ending child hunger and runs life-saving programmes in over 40 of the world’s poorest countries.
To celebrate the milestone, Carluccio’s chairman, Simon Kossoff, visited the north east of Senegal and a scheme that the group funds – an Action Against Hunger nutrition project in Matam, on the border with Mauritania.
Kossoff, along with Susie Aliband (Senior Marketing Manager) and Daniel Jeffries (Recruitment Manager), visited a number of projects in Matam including a garden where villagers are taught to plant vegetables such as beetroot, carrots and parsley and a health post that monitors and treats over 1600 children under five years of age from the villages in the area. The team also took part in a community awareness session, part of a Carluccio’s funded project to teach good hygiene/food practices and occupational therapy for malnourished children.
A highlight of the trip was the cooking of Carluccio’s signature dish, Penne Giardiniera, with villagers using the brand’s own pasta brought from London and locally sourced ingredients – most of the group’s fundraising comes via a 50p donation from the sale of this dish.
Simon Kossoff, Chairman of Carluccio’s said: It’s been an incredible and an emotional trip. There is an intriguing connection between a company that makes its living selling food to affluent westerners and an organisation dedicated to ending child hunger in Africa and throughout the world. We have been lucky enough to see, feel and hopefully strengthen that connection at first hand. I am very proud of the difference we have made since 2007 and whilst £1.5m is a big number, it’s really just the start.”
