Following the breakdown of their walk-in fridge on Sunday night, the Vegan Sandwich Co in Dublin was faced with having to dispose of what was deemed to be thousands of Euro of unsellable stock.
Vegan Sandwich Co opened in 2018 when owner and manager Sam Pearson, recognised a lack of vegan sandwich options in the Dublin market. After testing his wares on the festival circuit he began a small delivery service from a commercial kitchen. Later that year he took on the Queen Street shop so customers could buy the products across the counter as well as online.
Whilst the business has gone from strength to strength, it has faced massive challenges over the last couple of years with uncertainty around Covid restrictions.
In their social media post, they stated, “This is not a situation any food business wants to face.” They also kindly asked customers, “Please bear with us over the coming weeks while we rebuild our stock and regroup.”
https://twitter.com/vegansandwichco/status/1457356201273004041
Instead of allowing the food to go to waste, they decided to place it in creates in the shop with a sign which read, “Last night our walk-in fridge died, resulting in all of this stock becoming unsellable. We cannot guarantee anything is fit for consumption but if anyone has a use for it, it’s free to a good home.”
It went on, “We will not accept money for any of the stock but cash donations to Small Trans Library will be accepted at the counter.”
After the disappointment of losing all the stock, they were delighted to share that they managed to raise over €500 from the giveaway and also managed to avoid creating any waste.
https://twitter.com/vegansandwichco/status/1457417099568091140
The Small Trans Library (STL) is a small lending library with branches in both Dublin and Glasgow. They host a catalogue of over 200 LGBTQ+ books many of which are “trans-authored books for trans people”. The organisation also host reading groups, writing workshops and community events for trans people.
STL also provide a groceries and supplies fund for Trans people who are out of work or struggling. In the 15 months leading up to July of this year, they reported to have redistributed €18,000 of funds.
An update on the status of the Fund, 15 months of aid & support and counting! pic.twitter.com/t3FXwhS53O
— Small Trans Library Dublin (@translibdub) July 4, 2021
Visit Vegan Sandwich Co online here.
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