Restaurant Associates in new nutrition partnership with Kids Company

Executive dining caterer Restaurant Associates has created a new food and nutrition partnership with London/Bristol-based charity Kids Company.

The business, part of Compass Group, aims to draw on industry knowledge and to help improve the food services currently provided by the charity. It will also help Kids Company with training in health and safety, nutrition and finance and help provide apprenticeships for young adults at Kids Company's education and skills academy for those aged 16-23, in Bermondsey.

The partnership forms part of Restaurant Associates' corporate responsibility strategy, and is the latest part of its work with Kids Company. Over the past two years its work has included donating enough ingredients for 4,000 children and their families to eat Christmas dinner, plus hand-packing Christmas hampers for more than 7,500 people at Christmas time.

Andy Harris, managing director of Restaurant Associates, said: "I'm really proud of our partnership with Kids Company and I'm thrilled that we're able to build on the foundations of the support we've provided over the past two years."

Camila Batmanghelidjh (pictured), founder and director of Kids Company added: "Kids Company feeds 3,000 vulnerable children a week, with the majority of them depending on us for their main meal. Without the support of friends like Restaurant Associates we just couldn't meet their needs."

She added that without the commitment and skills from companies such as Restaurant Associates, many children would go hungry.

Kids Company helps provided emotional and practical support to vulnerable inner-city children, including more than 36,000 in London and Bristol, including 18,000 whose parents are unable to care for them.

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