Bristol’s appetite for charity: City raises £100,000 for food charities at first Anti Banquet

Bristol has not only flipped the banqueting scene on its head – it’s also flipped the bird to food insecurity – as the very first Anti Banquet raised £100,000 for Bristol Local Food Fund (BLFF).

 

In a room “full of fun, love and compassion”, with those who don’t usually get a seat at the table pouring in in their thousands, 50+ C-Suite managers from the South West gave up their time (and many would say blood, sweat, tears, bedtimes and blisters…) to cook in the kitchen and serve up a storm at the first event of its kind.

 

The unique event – organised by Josh Eggleton, Team Canteen, Team Love and Plaster – raised vital funds for BLFF, a volunteer-run project supporting local initiatives to tackle food insecurity in Bristol.

 

The sold-out night saw incredible support from businesses across the South West, including sponsors Sweet Projects, Yeo Valley, First Bus, Wring Group, Bristol Beer Factory and Google Cloud as well as further local organisations that generously donated to a sell-out raffle, which raised an additional £4,500 – including Artist Residence, Bianchis Group and Bristol Beer Factory.

 

Guiding the CEO’s in the kitchen were a number of celebrated chefs including Josh Eggleton, Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, Toby Gritten, Ben Harvey, Hannah Catley, Sam Elliot, Jude Kereama and Sunday Brunch’s Simon Rimmer, who all volunteered their time to raise money for a great cause.

 

Michael Lloyd-Jones, Founder of the Bristol Local Food Fund said: “What a night! An enormous thank you to the entire team, led by Josh Eggleton, who made the Anti Banquet event happen at Ashton Gate Stadium. All the funds raised will be distributed to community food projects in Bristol that are working to tackle food insecurity, and support food justice. This support has never been more needed.”

 

The night, hosted by comedy pairing Joe Sims and Jayde Adams, saw stellar performances from some of Bristol’s finest including The Invisible Circus, The 45s, DJ Safiye and Eva Lazarus.

 

At least one in 12 households in Bristol have experienced food insecurity in the past year, and with the money raised from the Anti Banquet, BLFF will be awarding the funds through a Citizen’s Panel made up of Bristolians who have lived experience of food insecurity.

 

 

Organiser Josh Eggleton said: “This money will make a real difference to the lives of Bristol’s most vulnerable people and we’re so thankful for everyone that came out in support of the cause. Joe and Jayde were brilliant to lend their time to host the evening, and the CEOs were great sports behind the scenes in the kitchen as well as joining the front of house team serving the tables. We’d love to inspire other cities to do the same.”

 

Gareth Sweet from Sweet Projects said: “What a fantastic night – it was brilliant to see the great and good of Bristol all coming together for an amazing cause, supporting the Bristol Local Food Fund.

 

“It was all happening in the kitchen,” added Gareth who brought some of his Directors along to help out, “Working alongside people like Josh Eggleton, Ben Harvey and Simon Rimmer too, helping prepare and cook the food. I’m just glad my dish was a cold one!”

 

 

“We’re so pleased to be able to support the Anti Banquet, which has flipped the traditional ‘fundraising dinner’ on its head. It’s a privilege to be able to donate tables, so more people who never usually come to events like this can attend, while raising money to support thousands of families across the communities we live and work in.”

 

With the support of partners, Feeding Bristol and Quartet Community Foundation, BLFF aims for all grants to be distributed in the late Spring. Over the course of several sessions, which will be generously hosted by Burges Salmon, the panel will go through a ‘participatory grant-making’ process where they will review the criteria and application process before making decisions on where the money is allocated.

To follow the progress of the funding awards, and for more information about the work that different community food projects are doing, head to the Bristol Local Food Fund website and social media channels.

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