Vestey Foods: Official Food suppliers to FTFE and The British Army

An army they say marches on its on stomach and expeditions are certainly no different. Diesel for Martha who is always hungry, but then again who wouldn’t be travelling 26,000 miles, and food and water for the crew.

When the Vestey Foods’ donation arrived at FTFE HQ the size of it can best be described expedition leader Stephen Moore’s initial reaction. “They have sent enough food for us to survive several nuclear winters, I can’t see my lawn”

We were confident that we had sourced diesel and water supplies en route but we couldn’t be sure if these locations also stocked food.

Even if they did would it be nutritious, easy to prepare in the field and recognisable(ish) to a Western palate. In addition if we were taking supplies from the UK normal food stuffs can be perishable, fragile and heavy and we were conscious of the 7.5 ton limit.

So taking the above into account, our need to find a supplier of food suitable for an expedition, were two fold.

Firstly, and the most important was to ensure is that if we broke down, became stuck or there is an accident we had an emergency ration pack that we would only break into in an emergency, and would last several days and be stored in the bowels of Martha.

Secondly, was a semi-emergency pack which we could use if fresh food wasn’t available. We anticipated this being the stretches through Russia and Mongolia, periods from Laos to Singapore and parts of Australia. Also if the crew we’re between towns overnight or simply as a nutritious delicious meal anytime, anywhere. The plan was that when the next crew flew out they would bring any items that needed replacing.

I read about Vestey Foods while researching possible suppliers for freeze dried meals and ration packs and immediately knew that they would be an incredible partner for FTFE.

Vestey Foods Group was established in the 1890’s and the UK Ministry of Defence is a key customer of their Special Contracts Division (SCD). They have been involved in their global food supply for almost 15 years. 

In addition to serving the British Armed Forces, they also supply the military of Norway, Sweden, Malta and Ghana, and are in discussion with the Armed Forces of Portugal, Cyprus, Ireland and India. So FTFE would fit right in – surely?

Neal Prest, Brand Development Executive at Vestey Foods, thankfully replied to my email and following some further discussion said he would send a few rations. Neal remarks, “It look a very interesting project and we liked your approach to us. We get so many requests of this nature but this expedition was so incredibly different to anything we’d previously seen that we felt compelled to help out”

So how much food did Neal pack for us? In Neal’s own words;

“I have just packed about 330 main meal pouches (massive) mostly protein Beef based but some Chicken etc – to heat them just immerse in boiling water for a few minutes or place them on the bonnet of the cab, or alternatively they can be eaten cold.

I have also included some energy bars, boiled sweets etc etc (some?? There were boxes and boxes of the stuff) and also 2 boxes of Lucozade Body Fuel.”

This was an incredible generous donation in size and cost from Neal and Vestey Foods and we really can’t thank them enough. The crew has already used them on countless occasions, including Western Europe saving them from a crisp and chocolate petrol station diet, and a big batch was sent out with the Stage crew 2.

During stage 2 the Vestey foods donation has really come into its own when they have quite literally been in the middle of nowhere. After a long and exhausting day the crew can make a warm, filling and nutritious meal in minutes with minimum fuss and effort. The stage 3 crew will take out new supplies as requested by Steve. “Bring as much as you can carry” was his request. Apparently Beef Stroganoff is the current favourite.

So what does Neal think of Steve and the crew for attempting this expedition? “Bloody stupid” he smiles.

Vestey Foods are recommended by FTFE and are the Official Food Supplier of FTFE.

Paul Barham

About Vestey Foods

The company has a central website www.vesteyfoods.com and http://rations.vesteyfoods.com (specifically about rations).

Vestey Foods Group is an International Trading Company with offices around the world specialising in the import, storage and distribution of a wide variety of foodstuffs from global suppliers into the various local markets in which we operate. We have a combined turnover of £450m p.a. and principally trade beef, pork, lamb, poultry, game, fish, seafood and convenience/ambient food products into some 70 countries.

The Group was established in the 1890’s, with the Trading division growing through a number of acquisitions in the last ten years, and in September 2007 we brought all the different company titles into the single identity of Vestey Foods Group. The new name combines the longstanding traditions within the 120-year old Vestey family business with a dynamic, customer-focused approach of all of our management teams. We have well-established relationships with key suppliers and operate to strict quality control standards to ensure that the product is delivered to customers the world over on time and correctly documented to full food safety requirements.

VFUK (Special Contracts Division (SCD)) is part of VFUK and is focused on multi-temperature total foodservice solutions, including ambient feeding solutions for challenging environments.

We are proud to include the UK Ministry of Defence as a key customer, and have been involved in their global food supply for almost 15 years.  Latterly, SCD have been the sole commercial supplier for their ration packs for the past 5 years, and we have also been granted a commercial licence by the MOD in order to offer their range to a wider market. The products have a wide range of uses in both the commercial and public sectors, including off site feeding and contingency planning. We are able to offer additional and alternative items in the event that “off the shelf” options are not suited to customer requirements.

SCD has an extensive range of products, frozen, chilled and ambient goods, and a wide selection of rations ranging from a Group Feeding Solution, to High Calorific Multi Climate, Day Ration and single pouch products.  With over 55 varieties of ration menu and an extensive range of Ambient and Freeze Dried Pouches and other components, VFUK are well placed to serve any customer.  Furthermore, we have an extensive supplier base for all of the single components contained within those rations and are able to supply any or all of the items with the high service and quality consistency.  We are constantly in development discussions with key customers to provide for their exact requirements.

In addition to serving the British Armed Forces, we also supply the military of Norway, Sweden, Malta and Ghana, and are in discussion with the Armed Forces of Portugal, Cyprus, Ireland and India.  Furthermore, we supply to non military organisations in numerous locations, including Chad, Sudan, Israel, Germany and Finland.