Pret A Manger is doing its best to help spread a little warmth across the UK. Inspired by hardworking soup kitchens up and down the country, from February Pret is donating 10p from every soup sold to the Pret Foundation Trust (PFT), which works to alleviate homelessness in the UK and raised £1.2 million in 2013.
The £1.2 million was the highest in the Trust’s history, allowing them to provide support to even more people.
Pret sells a lot of soup. That means that 2014 should be another record year for donations. The generosity of Pret’s customers is one of the main reasons the PFT has been a success, and the new campaign will help explain where the money goes and tell the stories of some of those that have been helped.
Soup Stories to provide insight
The Pret Soup Stories will be told via seven newly designed soup cups, each one providing a little bit of insight into how the donations can help change people’s lives.
“Breaking the cycle of homelessness is more than simply putting a roof over someone’s head,” says Giovanna Pasini, Pret Foundation Trust Manager. “It’s about giving people the support they need to take back their independence.”
One of the cups tells the story of Iris French and Patricia Wyndham, who started the 999 Club in South East London after seeing homeless people drinking in their local churchyard. Back then it was just the two of them with a toaster, a kettle and a typewriter, making cups of tea and sandwiches. Today they receive 1,375 visits a week, and the PFT covers their grocery bill, as well as providing a cook and other helpers from the team.
Another one tells the story of the Pret Charity Run, which delivers over 20,000 meals a week to UK charities working with the homeless. Every night, teams of volunteers collect Pret’s unsold food, making sure it goes to people that really need it rather than ending up in the bin.
For more information on the Pret Soup Story click here
Pret’s handy mobile website can now also tell you exactly what soups are being served on any given day. Simply go to pret.com/soups to find your nearest Pret and see what winter warmers are on today’s menu.
About Pret A Manger
Pret opened in London in 1986. Pret’s sandwiches, salads and wraps are handmade fresh in-shop each day using natural, preservative-free, ethically sourced ingredients. The food doesn’t have a ‘sell-by’ date as Pret offers unsold food to charity at the end of the day. Pret currently has 335 shops, the majority in the UK. The company was the subject of a management buyout in February 2008, which saw European private equity firm Bridgepoint acquire a majority stake.