'A small cog in a wheel of kindness': Pub up for big award

Norwich's Garden House pub in the Golden Triangle, which served up 18,000 meals for those in need in lockdown, has been shortlisted in The Great British Pub Awards 2021.

The pub, run by Jonathon and Tanya Childs, which recently launched its own food bank scheme, is up for an accolade in the Community Hero category.

The pub has delivered more than 18,000 meals for those in need, handed out more than 14,000 meal pouches and 300 winter warmth flasks to the homeless in Norwich and Great Yarmouth.

The meal pouches included a variety of dishes as well as tinned food and cutlery. They were shared across different local initiatives including St Martins Hostels, Norwich City Council’s Pathway Scheme, the Tribal Trust soup kitchen in Great Yarmouth and the Salvation Army.

They are now working on a 'fill a flask' campaign to launch a network of water refill stations for the homeless across Norwich.

Landlord of The Garden House, Jonathon Childs. (Image: Archant)

Mr Childs said: “For us, it is not just about donating food and helping those in need, it is bringing our community together and supporting each other. We are most proud of how our community has rallied and helped us in all of our initiatives.

"The overwhelming support from local businesses, farmers, local media and from Norwich City Council has made it all possible - we all united for such an important cause, when it counted.

“We are humbled to be the instigators of such a huge network - we are but a small cog in a big wheel of kindness.”

The Great British Pub Awards recognise, reward and celebrate the fantastic work pubs do for Britain and their communities. With entries spanning across 10 categories, the shortlisted pubs will now go through a second round of judging to be crowned the overall winner.