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Compass Group Ireland partners with Temple Street Foundation to support healthy lifestyle programme

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The leading food services company, Compass Ireland, has announced an exciting partnership with Temple Street Foundation, the charity of Temple Street Children’s University Hospital.

Not only has the organisation been identified as the company’s chosen charity, but the partnership will also see Compass bringing its culinary expertise to its W82GO programme – set up to provide families with guidance and a safe environment to help them achieve the healthiest lifestyle possible. For the first time families of W82GO will now be able to participate in a tailored cookery session, providing practical guidance and support around food preparation and cooking.

The W82GO programme has been running since 2005. The programme supports families referred by Temple Street Children’s Hospital and runs several times a year. The 7 week course, delivered by a multidisciplinary team comprised of a Paediatrician, Dietician, Nurse, Chartered Physiotherapist and a Clinical Psychologist, will provide families with information on healthy eating, the importance of physical fitness, self-esteem and managing supermarket shopping.

Adding a practical cooking session to the W82GO programme provides the opportunity to debunk a lot of the myths around the price of cooking meals from scratch, as well as educate families about the benefits of cooking at home and as a family.

The first of the cookery sessions took place at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin last week. To begin with, the twelve families watched Compass’ learning and development chef Paolo Armani, prepare and cook a variety of healthy chicken dishes. The families were then invited to cook a dish themselves, putting in to practice the techniques they had just been taught. To help provide ongoing support after the session, they were all given their own recipe booklet to take home.

Commenting on the partnership, Audrey Foley, Managing Director, Compass Group Ireland said:
“We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with Temple Street Foundation. They really are such an inspirational organisation. Promoting healthy eating is a natural fit for us. It’s something we think about every day when designing our menus and through our work with clients. We are thrilled to bring our culinary expertise to the organisation and be helping to provide the knowledge and know-how to families who need the support. Food is fun, it’s something a family can enjoy together and I hope our lessons will help families see the love and joy cooking can bring.”

Denise Fitzgerald, CEO, Temple Street Foundation added:
“The partnership with Compass is going to work with us on so many levels. As well as supporting our fundraising efforts, their expert chefs are teaching some of our families the key skills in food preparation and healthy cooking. By being able to teach them the basics and give them confidence through the Compass cooking session, we hope it will help the families on the W82GO programme to make positive changes to their lifestyles that will see long term health benefits.”

As one of its first fundraising initiatives for the charity, Compass Ireland has announced that all proceeds from its “guilt free” Halloween brownie, being sold at sites across its business, will go to Temple Street Foundation.
The new W82GO cooking session, will formally form part of the programme from January 2017.

-ENDS-

 
Notes to Editors

For more information on W820Go please visit: http://w82go.ie/
For more information on Temple Street Foundation please visit: www.templestreet.ie
For any enquiries relating to Compass Group UK & Ireland, contact the Communications Team on +44 (0) 1895 554 999 or email uk.communications@compass-group.co.uk

Tailored cooking sessions will give families information on healthy living practices