Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief bring extra flavour to The Bread and Butter Thing this Summer
Introducing the UK’s first ever Seasonings Shuttle service, an initiative that offers free herbs and spices to our members to help increase diversity and flavour in diets
Kicking off in Manchester, The Seasonings Shuttle toured 10 of our hubs for the month of May, providing 1,600 TBBT members, with a choice of fresh and dried herbs and spices. It will then be packing up it’s flavours and heading up to the North East for August. This all forms part of Sainsbury’s ongoing Nourish the Nation programme with Comic Relief and ourselves.
Our members get to choose from a range of ingredients that are otherwise left off shopping lists, in a bid to tackle meal monotony. There’s a wide range of dried herbs such as oregano, parsley, and basil, as well as fresh herbs including chillies, ginger and garlic, plus aromatic spices such as smoked paprika, garam masala and ground cinnamon.
One Manchester member said, "I had a load of aubergines and some beef mince I wasn't sure what to do with and made a moussaka of sorts along using garlic chilli, mild chilli powder and smoked paprika because I had it in my cupboard-delicious! Makes mealtimes more creative and tasty and allows me to make more with the veg and items from TBBT as herbs and spices are expensive."
Alongside these free samples, our members enjoy recipe ideas and cooking advice courtesy of our CDDOs and cooking queen hosts to help enhance that week’s TBBT shop. There’s been homemade chilli jam, cinnamon chicken and pak choi stir fry, moussaka and lots of too hot to handle curries.
Another member commented: “It was a really nice surprise. Herbs and spices are pricey and it was so nice to make bruschetta with the herbs and tomatoes from TBBT. Me and my gran felt like we were treating ourselves which is something we rarely can afford.”
The Bread and Butter Thing CEO, Mark Game and Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Ruth Cranston
Ruth Cranston, Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at Sainsbury’s, said: “We hope that the Seasonings Shuttle will make mealtimes more varied and enjoyable for The Bread and Butter Thing’s members, helping them to stock up on herbs and spices so they can create more flavoursome and fulfilling dishes for many meals to come. With herbs and spices often getting left off shopping lists due to needing to prioritise other items, we wanted to create an initiative that supports our belief that everyone should have access to tasty and diverse food.
“The Seasonings Shuttle is the latest phase in our Nourish the Nation programme with Comic Relief, which aims to build upon our long-standing commitment to ensure everyone has access to good food that is balanced, nutritious, and sustainable.”
Our CEO, Mark Game, added: “It should come as no surprise that the cost of living crisis has forced many UK households to reassess food priorities, with staples coming first and the nice-to-haves like herbs and spices being scrapped. Food is one of life’s joys and everyone deserves good grub without having to sacrifice nutrition or taste.
“It’s been brilliant to hear how much the initiative has inspired our members. We know that 94% of our members are competent in the kitchen with 54% of those having ‘good’ cooking skills so it’s been a pleasure to hear how their creativity has been unleashed thanks to the Seasonings Shuttle.”
Stay tuned to see the next installment in the North East this August!
