30th July, 2010

DAVID ADAMS

Not a Pret A Manger sandwich, but you get the idea. PICTURE: Ove Tøpfer (www.sxc.hu)

It’s the sort of thing that makes me go wow! when I hear of it. I recently found out that largely UK-based sandwich chain Pret A Manger not only donate money to a range of charities to alleviate poverty in the UK – focusing particularly on the homeless – they also give their unsold sandwiches to them at the end of each day.

While some charities for the homeless pick them up directly from the company's shops, the Pret Charity Run operates vans which deliver 12,000 meals to London-based shelters each week, making it, according to the company, a total of 1.7 million products donated each year.

It’s a simple idea, yet a terrific one, the benefits of which are hard to really quantify - not only does it provide food to those who don't have it and provide them with the knowledge that people do care about their plight, but it also gives people a chance to step in and make a difference . And I know Pret A Manger are not alone in doing such good works. So tell us - what other companies are you aware of which are doing similar good things?

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