Soldiers across Shropshire will benefit from a £7,500 boost to ABF The Soldiers’ Charity from The Shrewsbury Big Curry event held earlier this summer.
Hundreds turned out to support the inaugural event which was held in The Square in Shrewsbury on Saturday 23 July with 500 curries being sold to the public in just three hours.
The Shrewsbury Big Curry was a cook-off between Army chefs from 143 (West Midlands) Brigade and chef Ed Warren from the TASTE kitchen at Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre. For a £5 donation people received a portion of both curries and voted for their favourite with the TASTE kitchen clinching the title.
Sales from the curry, street collections and other donations meant that organiser Nick Chavasse, Managing Director of NRG Direct Mail Ltd, a former Major in the British Army, was able to hand over a cheque of £7,501.05 to ABF The Soldiers’ Charity.
ABF The Soldiers’ Charity gives lifetime support to serving and retired soldiers and their families. In 2010 The Soldiers’ Charity was able to give £76,132.50 to support 72 different cases including soldiers and their families in Shropshire.
Mr Chavasse said: “The Shrewsbury Big Curry exceeded all our expectations and I was thrilled to be able to hand over a cheque to The Soldiers’ Charity for just over £7,500. Thank you to everyone who donated and supported us on the day and to HEART of ENGLAND fine foods, managers of Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre, and Shropshire Council for their support.”
Richard Hackett, The Soldiers’ Charity Regional Director for the West Midlands said: “I am absolutely delighted with the huge success of The Shrewsbury Big Curry. This donation will go directly to helping soldiers and their families across the region so I would like to thank the organisers and the public for their generosity.”
For more information about ABF The Soldiers’ Charity visit www.soldierscharity.org.