In this section
Thank you so much for your interest in supporting our hospitals with the donation of food or drinks for staff or patients – we really appreciate you thinking of us.
The Trust is grateful for any donations and will ensure that these are allocated in a fair and consistent manner, while ensuring that food safety rules are following. This is to minimise the risk of food poisoning or allergic reactions, which can be extremely serious, or, in very rare cases, fatal.
Criteria for donations
The quantities donated need to be on a commercial level, such as a minimum of 20 wholesale boxes, or by industrial crate.
Any food or drink must be in individual factory sealed portions, be within its sell-by date and include a list of ingredients on each wrapper (including allergen information)
Unfortunately, the Trust cannot accept food and meals that are not factory-sealed, require to be held in a temperature controlled manner or need to be reheated. This is due to food safety guidance.
The items we CAN accept
- Wrapped fresh fruit and fruit products
- Factory sealed pre-packed fruit
- Factory sealed cakes/biscuits
- Factory sealed nuts and seeds
- Factory sealed chocolate or sweets
- Packets of crisps (individual packets), popcorn, pretzels
- Bottled drinks (plastic only)
The items we CANNOT accept
- Raw or cooked meat, fish or poultry
- Fresh or artificial cream products
- Pre-wrapped sandwiches (all fillings)
- Alcohol – or any items containing alcohol
- Large cartons of fruit juice/milkshake
- Any food item which requires refrigeration or heating
- Take-away meals
Other offers of food for our staff/patients
If you are looking to make a donation of smaller quantities of goods, treats or food which do not meet the donation criteria then you would have to consider making these donations available for collection by staff/families at an alternative location, off-site.
In this situation the community group or charity is responsible for compliance with all food safety matters and staff/patients will be advised that they accept gifts at their own risk.
We are very happy to highlight offers of food from community groups or charities in our internal communications if this can be collected off Trust sites.
Thank you once again for keeping our staff and patients in your thoughts. If you wish to discuss a donation which meets the criteria above or wish us to highlight an off-site food gift opportunity then please contact us on communications@mft.nhs.uk