Bubbles are flowing at Quattro HQ in Portsmouth. We are absolutely delighted and bursting with pride after winning the Portsmouth News Business Excellence Awards 2022 Company CSR Initiative of the Year award, sponsored by BAE Systems.
Our entire team has performed above and beyond expectations over the past two troubled years. At our helm, MD Sam Brower has always expressed her respect and gratitude for a team that stepped up in times of trouble – and seemed to really thrive on doing good in the community.
“When things were looking bleak at the start of the pandemic, being able to use our talents and resources to produce thousands of meals for local charities gave us purpose and a sense of focus. It put a spring in our step and we also got to know some really special people” said Sam.
In retrospect it’s clear that we were struggling to hold up business as usual from the start of 2020 onwards, as we witnessed the slow and painful crippling of the hospitality sector. But committed to feeding the nation, in good times and bad, the only way we knew how to survive was to step up and support our community. After all, we were left with surplus stock, and never knowingly letting anything go to waste, we partnered with local charities including The Hive and Friday Fridge to help those facing serious food shortages. Supporting community charities felt like the most effective and fulfilling way to help the most vulnerable among us.
The other nominees also did incredible things and we are all quite overwhelmed that the accolade is ours, especially in the face of such tough competition. Sam paid tribute to those we were up against – and anyone with a social conscience – and reminds us of the importance of continuing our work, even post-pandemic.
“There are so many people who give their spare time to helping in the local community, it’s very humbling and we are proud to be a part of it. Whilst we don’t have quite so much spare capacity now and certainly not as much available food, we continue to make sure we communicate regularly with the local charities and we still donate as much as we can.”
So many businesses, locally and nationally, behaved impressively during the pandemic, keeping their morale up, their business afloat and helping others. At Quattro our collective empathy and compassion paved the way for a concerted effort to ensure that as few people as possible suffered the consequences wreaked by a global halt in production, manufacturing and delivery of food.
“I’ve said it many times,” added Sam. “What Team Quattro achieves never ceases to amaze me. Quattro wouldn’t be here without the focus, hard work, continuing support and camaraderie of its brilliant team and I can’t thank the local charities enough for working with us and showing us how we could help. Winning this award is wonderful; I was incredibly proud to accept it on behalf of our whole team and the charities who worked with us to get the meals to those in need. We’ll treasure it for each and every one of them.”
Sam’s words resonate and we’re all feeling proud and determined to continue being community minded in the future.
We wish our fellow nominees a huge congrats and we’re excited to see the amazing achievements that happen in time for next years’ awards! 🍾