Local charity, Cork Penny Dinners is set to benefit from a “Soup-er Friday” fundraiser being organised by award winning local Cork food company, Just Food on Friday 30th November. Fifty cents from every Just Food soup pot sold in Cork on the day will be donated to this worthy cause. A pop-up Just Food Soup stand, located outside Brown Thomas, will also sell soup to passers-by on the day, with all proceeds from these sales going to the charity.
To coincide with this fundraiser, Cork businesses who don’t manage to get their hands on any of Just Food’s delicious soups, are invited to bring their lunch into work on the day and the money saved by doing this can also be donated to Cork Penny Dinners.
Founded in the 1840s, Cork Penny Dinners is one of Cork’s oldest, independent caring organisations, offering a nourishing hot midday meal to all those in need, in exchange for a small coin. The charity cooks and serves approximately eight hundred and fifty meals per week and is open seven days a week.
Tying in with Cork Penny Dinners was a natural choice for Just Food, an Organic Food company, specialising in nourishing organic soups, established in 2004 by Deirdre Hilliard who started out operating a stall at the renowned Midleton Farmers Market. Following quick and steady success, Deirdre graduated to a commercial kitchen in Cobh, Co Cork, where they prepare all their organic soup and salad products using fresh Irish ingredients that are in season. Just Foods is one of the regions big success stories, stocked in all of the major multiples nationwide and recently signed a lucrative contract for a major multiple in Belgium.
Speaking about why they chose Cork Penny Dinners as the beneficiary of “Soup-er Friday”, Cobh native and Owner of Just Food, Deirdre Hilliard said “Cork Penny Dinners is such a worthy charity and does so much for the Cork community, feeding hundreds of people and warming up many lives every week; that we felt they were the ideal partner to benefit from “Soup-er Friday”! It’s so simple to get involved on November 30th and help Cork Penny Dinners continue to make a difference – simply buy a Just Food pot of soup from any of our stockists in Cork City and county, and fifty cents from each pot goes to the charity. Or why not host your own Soup-er Friday lunch break at work, encouraging fellow employees to bring in their own lunch to work that day and donate the money saved to Cork Penny Dinners.”
Deirdre went on to say “You will find our products in SuperValu, Dunnes, Tesco and a number of independent stores. If you’re in the city on November 30th, don’t forget to visit our pop-up soup stand outside Brown Thomas on the day, from which all proceeds go directly to the charity.”
Thanking Just Food for their time and effort, Cork Penny Dinners PRO, Florence Harrison said “Our aim is to provide a warm, dry place to sit and eat, with a welcoming atmosphere, no questions asked, no judgments made. Regardless of ability to pay, all are welcomed with courtesy. Every week the number of people we feed increases and we are now bursting at the seams in a hundred year old warehouse. We could not survive without volunteers who are willing to give their time to serve and cook the food, or without supporters like Just Food. The fact that Just Food are dedicated to serving healthy nourishing food made it a perfect fit for us, and we thank them most sincerely for thinking of us and donating the proceeds from “Soup-er Friday” fundraiser to our continued work.”
Donations can be made to Cork Penny Dinners via MyCharity.ie; by posting a cheque to Cork Penny Dinners, 4 Little Hanover Street, Cork City; or bank transfer to The Ulster Bank, 88 Patrick St, sort code 98-54-80, account no. 10927581.
For further details on “Soup-er Friday” and information on Just Food products, visit www.justfood.ie or www.corkpennydinners.ie
