BD Group in the Community
BD Group is an independent commercial company that is wholly owned by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, which combines the best experience from the private sector with the ethos and care of the public sector service and all our profits are invested back into the people and communities in which we serve, fully supporting the wellbeing of the Borough of Barking & Dagenham.
We strive to improve the environment in which we live and work whilst caring about the communities where we operate. We deliver meaningful social value and improve people’s lives in the communities. We develop social value plans, in partnership with our clients, to deliver long-term, sustainable outcomes. We proactively look to offer employment and training opportunities to local people and support initiatives to provide employment opportunities to young and disadvantaged people.
We aim to improve the overall health of the Borough by investing in the development of our team, teaching life skills, such as cooking, through after school classes and delivering workshops to promote good health across the community.
Universal Free School Meals initiative extended to 2025
BD Group will continue providing Free Schools Meals to the borough's school children following the recent announcement by the Mayor of London to extend the Universal Free School Meals (UFSM) initiative to 2025.
Since it was introduced in 2023, UFSM has funded 17 million meals to around 287,000 of the capital’s primary school children (in state funded schools), with BDT successfully delivering over 16,000 plus meals (a day) to children in Barking and Dagenham alone.
The extension is expected to save families up to £1,000 per child across the two academic years and will be a welcome boost during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Donna Thacker, Acting Operations Director of BD Together, the catering arm of the Group, said: “This is such good news for children and families in the borough. Free school meals are a lifeline for many families struggling to make ends meet and we’re delighted we can continue supporting families in our local community”.