BITC and YMCA see fruits of ACC Liverpool’s labour
As part of an on-going relationship with Business In The Community (BITC), staff from ACC Liverpool held their annual away on Wednesday 17th August with the support of BITC and the YMCA.
The 95-strong team from ACC Liverpool, led by CEO Bob Prattey actively helped develop and transform a plot of land in Speke, south of Liverpool city centre. The open space was regenerated into an allotment which the Liverpool Food Alliance will now be able to use to produce locally grown food for organisations such as the YMCA to benefit from.
Activities on the day included building a poly tunnel to grow and harvest tomatoes, fixing and painting fences and clearing the allotment making it into a cultivable space.
Bob Prattey, CEO, ACC Liverpool said, “We are really pleased to have held our second away day in partnership with organisations that directly benefit the local community. The team always enjoys getting involved, and as a business, we are lucky to be able to work with some incredible projects and charities throughout the city. It’s rewarding to see a project such as this come to fruition.”
Project facilitators, YMCA, partnered the venue with the Liverpool Food Alliance. Project development officer at the YMCA, Peter Boyle, said, “It means a lot to a front line homeless charity such as Dutch Farm to receive a considerable amount of hands-on help from ACC Liverpool’s staff. The kick start has launched the first operation of the Liverpool Food Alliance through the build of the poly tunnel. ACC Liverpool’s help is instrumental to fast forwarding our project and we are grateful for their help to the local community.”
The Liverpool Food Alliance has been created to produce local food for local people. By undertaking the project, ACC Liverpool has started a Liverpool wide food hub and created growing space for the homeless hostels to produce and sell food bringing in valuable funding.
Since opening, ACC Liverpool has contributed an estimated £500m in economic benefit to the local economy. The venue’s CSR credentials have led the venue to achieve zero waste to landfill and ISO4001 accreditation.