The Manchester Hoteliers Association (MHA) is rallying hotels across the city in support of local charity Mustard Tree and its ‘Fill a Crate for Christmas’ campaign.
Mustard Tree is a charity which seeks to combat poverty and prevent homelessness through a range of initiatives, such as providing low cost furniture and food for individuals and families facing financial hardship across Greater Manchester.
The Christmas Crate Campaign aims to support its efforts by providing businesses and individuals the chance to donate food by filling up a crate with boxed and canned non-perishable items. The crates, which will be collected by Mustard Tree, will be made available in Mustard Tree’s ‘Food Club’.
The MHA has encouraged its members to sign up to the initiative to help combat food poverty, with a total 15 hotels across Manchester having now agreed to provide crates of food items.
Hotels providing donations include The Lowry, Hotel Brooklyn, Novotel, The Marriott, Hotel Gotham, Hilton Airport, Dakota, and The Radisson Blu.
The work of charities such as Mustard Tree is more significant than ever before, as the pandemic has proved especially difficult for the homeless community.
Mustard Tree has revealed that its monthly food costs grew six-fold at the height of the pandemic. Donations of food items aid in keeping food costs down, meaning that monetary donations can be used elsewhere within the charity.
Jack Barton from Mustard Tree said: “As the impact of the Coronavirus continues to be felt, we are refocusing the charity to prioritise food clubs, food supply, and distribution, and the Christmas Crates fall under that.
“The response from MHA members has been nothing short of amazing and we’d like to thank everyone who has signed up to get involved – particularly The Lowry Hotel and Adrian, who communicated and coordinated our campaign with the members.
“Our mission is to combat poverty and prevent homelessness across Greater Manchester. Having this support from The Lowry Hotel and the MHA gives us the confidence to uphold our commitment and help as many people as possible during this incredibly difficult time.”
Chair of the Manchester Hoteliers Association, Adrian Ellis, added: “The MHA has always supported the fantastic work that Mustard Tree does in fighting food poverty across the city of Manchester. The Christmas Crate Campaign feels more important than ever before, and we are very happy to see so many of our hotels supporting such a vital cause.”
To get involved in the Fill a Crate for Christmas campaign please contactrosie.field@mustardtree.org.uk.
