Two food foundations back The Great Fruit Adventure 2016
The Waitrose Foundation and the Fairtrade Foundation have supported The Adventure: an epic trip across Europe and Africa to raise awareness in the UK of the importance of fruit and veg and where it comes from.
Starting in November, fresh produce industry veteran Max MacGillivray and his companion Gareth Jones will motorbike their way from a formal start from New Spitalfields Market in London, all the way to Cape Town, South Africa, visiting a huge range of fruit and veg growers along the way, including several supported by the two Foundations.
They plan to chronicle their story – and more importantly the story of the growers – to help raise awareness of how fruit and veg gets from where it is grown to British shop shelves.
The Waitrose Foundation is a partnership between Waitrose, its suppliers and growers who produce, pick and pack its fresh produce in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The Foundation was launched in 2005 to help improve the lives of the workers and communities that supply Waitrose’s products, including some citrus fruits, flowers and avocados.
The Fairtrade Foundation works to benefit small-scale farmers and workers across 74 developing countries. It is an independent certification body which licenses the use of the FAIRTRADE mark in the UK on products that meet social, economic and environmental Fairtrade standards.
Max said: “Fresh produce is my lifelong passion and I’ve put my heart and soul into the industry so I was dismayed to read that six out of 10 British children had no idea where the fruit and veg they eat comes from. Something had to be done.
“I want to tell the story of the fantastic places where our fruit and veg is grown and having two big industry names backing us all the way is incredible.
“I can’t wait for the journey now especially after the encouragement and backing from the Waitrose Foundation and the Fairtrade Foundation.”
Joanna Milis, Education Campaigns Manager at the Fairtrade Foundation said: “The Great Fruit Adventure champions our work with schools – helping students understand where some of the food we eat in the UK comes from and how our shopping choices can support farmers in developing nations.
“Farmers around the world face many problems from unfair trading practices and poverty to climate change. The challenge Max is setting out on should help raise much-needed awareness about some of the issues. We wish him the best of luck.”
Amali Bunter, Responsible Sourcing Manager at the Waitrose Foundation, said: “It’s great Max will be visiting Waitrose Foundation farms where he’ll be able to understand the story behind our range of Waitrose Foundation products. He'll be able to learn how we invest in the communities of the people who produce the quality goods we sell in our branches. By being involved in The Great Fruit Adventure we hope that children will gain a fascinating insight into where their food comes from and how the Waitrose Foundation is impacting positively on communities across Africa.”
Along the way they will visit the likes of key citrus growers in Spain, the largest grower of sweetcorn in Senegal, an amazing fruit grower in Ghana that supplies Waitrose and Sainsbury’s with prepared fruit products, amazing growers of flowers in Ethiopia and Mozambique, key exotic vegetable and coffee growers in Kenya as well as Tanzania and all of the beauty that South Africa offers in the total range of fresh produce!
To get involved, support or sponsor the project, call 01284 715055, email info@thegreatfruitadventure.com or visit www.thegreatfruitadventure.com
The Great Fruit Adventure is a non-profit campaign and all proceeds raised after the cost of the trip will go to a select number of African facing nominated charities.