We are thrilled to announce that our Hospitality Against Homelessness Campaign won the Most Dynamic Collaboration category at this year’s Hotel, Restaurant & Catering Awards held (virtually) yesterday 22nd September 2020. OAPA was shortlisted alongside 5 other worthy and deserving campaigns including The Core Collective, The Grand Outdoor Café, Place of the Way – ‘Wrestling with Demons’, Supersonic Inc. Ltd – 100 day playbook and HOSPOLIVE – so we are honoured to be announced as the winners!

Huge thanks to everyone who voted for us for the award and a very special thank you to our Partners, Yummy Pubs Co, Thomas Franks Ltd and Paul Pavli Consulting as well as all the supporting companies who donated such an amazing amount of food, drinks, snacks, toiletries and…Easter Eggs!

PLEASE TAKE A BOW : Tom Aikens, Brakes UK, Lupa Foods Ltd, Billington Foodservice, British Beer & Pub Association, Bidfood UK, Experience Curators, Fresh Direct (UK), Feel Good Drinks, Asahi UK, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Hyde Park, Global Medics, KP Snacks, Leathams, Nestlé, Strand Palace Hotel, The Athenaeum Hotel, Pret Foundation, RERUSNI Ltd, Delifrance (UK) Ltd, Pasta Remoli, Team PAK Consulting and last but by no means least, Emdad (our volunteer extraordinaire!)

The Hospitality Against Homelessness Campaign entry;
As the COVID-19 crisis unfolded, the team at homeless charity Only A Pavement Away started to see a rise in enquiries asking if they could help in providing meals to homeless people across London. From that the Only A Pavement Away Hospitality Against Homeless Campaign was set up to bring together the hospitality industry in a focused effort to provide immediate support to homeless people within London. The campaign was delivered in partnership with Yummy Pubs Co who cooked and distributed the meals, Thomas Franks Ltd who donated meals and microwaves to ensure that those who have been placed into hostels have some form of cooking facilities and Paul Pavli Consultancy Ltd who used their network of distributors and retailers to secure supplies. In the first 15 weeks of the campaign, the collaboration helped to provide; 55,000 meals, 110,000 drinks, 86,000 snacks and 2,000 Easter eggs, as well as distributing stocks of hand sanitizer and shampoo. The current number of homeless people receiving food has now reached 800 people per week receiving 3 meals per day. With a total retail value of goods & services provided reaching an estimated £500,000k.

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