Street food specialists, caterers and restaurateurs are invited to provide a new food and drink service at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton – with no rent or bills to pay!
The Kemptown hospital is run by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSussex), which also manages hospitals in Chichester, Worthing, Shoreham-by-Sea and Haywards Heath.
Their unique free concession offer comes in response to the outpouring of support the Trust received from both the public and local businesses during the pandemic.
“We were blown away by the support of our communities and many offers of free food we received when Covid struck,” said director of Facilities and Estates, David McLaughlin.
“Now, as we look to reopen our Waves Restaurant in Brighton, we want to give something back and do all we can to provide affordable, healthy and environmentally sound food and drink options.
“That’s why we will not charge our new partner rent, utility bills or facilities fees – instead, we want savings to be passed on to our patients, visitors and hard-working NHS staff.”
To apply for a 6-month concession, businesses must have a 5-star Food Hygiene Rating, as well as Employers’ and Public Liability insurance policies.
David added: “This pilot really is a unique opportunity and hopefully the first of many new community partnerships we will be forging across Sussex that benefit the public, our people and the planet.
“At University Hospitals Sussex, we’re proud to try new things that support the communities we serve. So, please help us to share this opportunity with food specialists across Sussex. Thank you.”
To find out more about the process, email [email protected] . Please make sure you state the subject matter as “Expression of Interest for a Community Food Catering Partnership Tender” and mark the e-mail as high importance.
Tender documentation will be issued to all suppliers expressing an interest and the deadline for tender responses is scheduled for the 13th of May 2022.