Pig hotel donates garden produce to endangered gorillas

The Pig at Bridge Place in Kent has donated produce from its kitchen gardens to vulnerable groups in the community – as well as endangered gorillas at a local sanctuary.

With no guests to feed after the closure of hospitality businesses last month, the non-furloughed kitchen garden staff at the 28-bedroom hotel near Canterbury have started delivering its abundance of produce to the doorsteps of NHS workers and high risk and vulnerable individuals, as well as the ‘residents' of the nearby gorilla sanctuary at Howletts Wild Animal Park.

The 29 western lowland gorillas, which the Aspinall Foundation intends to re-introduce to protected forests in Central Africa, are now enjoying 'gone over' parsnips, chard, celeriac and spring onions that would otherwise go to waste.

Guy Freedman, hotel director at the Pig at Bridge Place, said: "We didn't want any food to go to waste, but veg can only be preserved for so long. We have asked all in our local village of Bridge to let us know what they need and have ensured that the local NHS workers, elderly and the vulnerable take what they want. We still found ourselves with leftover veg as the gardens are at their most productive in April, May and June. So we are delighted to have found that the gorillas are happy recipients."

The Pig in Kent to open on 13 May >>

The Pig to expand with trio of new hotels >>

Lockdown: closure extended to hotels; takeaway and delivery remain open >>