Irish food producers Finnebrogue Artisan and Mash Direct have joined forces to offer their workforces food bundles to help ease cost-of-living pressures.
The County Down-based businesses have committed products to each other on a weekly basis in order to create the food bundles, which employees can access via a newly created Food Shack. It is open for a few hours each day so that everyone can collect their food bundle each week.
Valued at around £25 per bundle, this enables each employee to save around £100 each month on food shopping.
Finnebrogue has provided sausages, bacon, ham and a range of plant-based foods, while Mash Direct has committed to provide staff with more than 50 vegetable options.
Chris Overend, head of HR at Finnebrogue, said: “Finnebrogue employs 1,200 people across fours sites in Downpatrick, and over the past 12 months, we’ve heard how our people are making spending adjustments, cutting back and tightening belts, and we essentially wanted to help.
"We introduced free breakfast and lunch options to all staff at the start of 2022, which guaranteed a warm meal each day. We extended hybrid working with optional work-from-home days, to help reduce the fuel burden from travel costs.
“With our new initiative in partnership with Mash Direct, we can go one step further. Food bundles will help the families of our employees to put good food on the table, even in the toughest weeks. Every employee can take home a hearty food bundle each week, comprising a mix of sausages, ham, bacon and healthy vegetable sides.”
Clare Forster, head of marketing at Mash Direct, added: “The food industry is fantastic for collaboration, and we are delighted to work together with Finnebrogue to provide support to our teams. The Food Shack is a way for the food industry to work together while energy prices continue to drive inflation.”
