Helping NHS heroes 'take a break'

Leading international food supplement and health product manufacturer Nutrition Group is helping NHS heroes at one of the country’s best-known hospitals ‘take a break’ from their work on the coronavirus frontline.

The Blackpool-based health supplements and sports nutrition sector contract manufacturer has donated 100,000 protein bars which are now being distributed to staff at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

It is all part of an initiative to persuade the hospital’s 11,000 staff to take some time to “pause and recharge”.

The bars are part of special ‘tea break boxes’ that also contain tea, biscuits, ‘Top Trumps’ cards and other goodies.

Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust (ACT) has created the boxes, which are being distributed throughout the Cambridge hospital, which is internationally-renowned for its pioneering transplant work.

Nutrition Group, which supplies some of the world’s most renowned nutrition brands, got involved in the initiative through its links with nutritional ingredients supplier Cambridge Commodities.

Nutrition Group chief executive Richard Greathead said: “We were only too pleased to do something to show our support for NHS frontline workers and the incredible work they do.

“It’s really important that they do take that moment to pause and recharge and to take a break and we hope our donation will help them to do that.

“The past few months has been incredibly challenging for everyone working in the NHS More than ever they deserve that well-earned break, which is so important for people’s wellbeing.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Cambridge Commodities and when they came to us and explained the initiative at their local hospital, we were delighted to be able to do our bit.”

Shelly Thake, CEO of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, said: “The support for Addenbrooke’s staff has been huge, both from our local community and further afield. 

“The tea break boxes have been one of our ways to say “thank you” to our hospital colleagues. 

“Thanks to Nutrition Group we could do this on a huge scale across the whole hospital, and it’s been hugely appreciated by staff.” 

And Cambridge Commodities CEO James Stevens added: “We’re really proud of our long standing relationship with Nutrition Group, thank you to the whole team for their generosity.”

Nutrition Group’s clients include major vitamin brands and well-known online sports nutrition businesses and health food multiples. The family-owned business employs 150 staff and has an annual turnover of £17million.

It invested £3million last year in a state-of-the-art protein bar production line with the capacity to make 50 million ‘energy bars’ a year.