unearthed® team take on Machu Picchu trek with Action Against Hunger

We recently announced our #ThanksAMillion campaign to celebrate £1 million donated to international hunger charity Action Against Hunger UK from unearthed® ’s penny on a pack pledge – a fantastic achievement.

Since 2010, unearthed® has pledged a 1p donation from every pack of its products sold to Action Against Hunger UK, which aims to end hunger by preventing and treating malnutrition in over 50 countries around the world.

In recognition of our 12-year partnership, Action Against Hunger recently invited some of The Compleat Food Group team to participate in its yearly ambassador challenge, a massive fundraising drive with a huge £200K target, taking place this year in Peru.

Carrie Hollis Patel, Marketing Manager at unearthed® and Matt McAuliffe, our Innovation & Product Development Director, both took on the challenge from The Compleat Food Group.

Carrie, explains what they got up to in Peru and some of the projects they visited.

“Each year the ambassador challenges are physically demanding and on an epic scale – with this year being no exception as our team trekked the Inca trail all the way to Machu Picchu! As this trip also coincided with the launch of our #ThanksAMillion campaign, we knew we couldn’t say no.

“Matt and I accepted the challenge and set off on September 22^nd with the rest of the group, an interesting bunch of Michelin star chefs, marketing mega-folk and hospitality heroes.

“It quickly became apparent this trip was not one for the faint hearted! We were climbing high – 4,600 metres and altitude sickness was to be expected. Four of the 13 of the group ahead of us simply could not complete the physical expectations at this altitude. Rumours spread around our group of sheer drops, unsteady trails and white-knuckle moments and I, for one, was a bit scared.

“In reality, the trek was tough but wildly beautiful. The Andes were awesome, and as we walked through the mountainous terrain, across waterfalls and past wildly roaming alpacas, we were all wide eyed and inspired.

“Unfortunately, some of our party couldn’t get to the summit, but driven on by absolute determination Matt and I would not let the unearthed® side down! From the summit we then trekked down through the mountains to the jungle, where the land turned green and the midges had a party. Things eased off a bit from here as we descended down to the lowest point of our trip in altitude and the highest in achievement – Machu Picchu.

“After a final 3,000 step climb, we rounded the sun gate as a group, with no one left behind. It was a dream. The hidden city of Machu Picchu, glorious in the hot Peruvian sun. We were all ecstatic and emotional. This wasn’t only a big tick on the bucket list but more importantly we knew we had successfully delivered for Action Against Hunger.

“In the days before the trek in Lima, we visited Action Against Hunger funded projects. We met intelligent, strong and resilient people who, for reasons beyond their control had to restart their lives. We chatted and joked and they thanked us personally for our contribution which, in their eyes, saved their lives and afforded them the dignity to rebuild.

“#ThanksAMillion isn’t only a campaign to say thank you to our unearthed® customers for raising the money. It is also a thank you to every individual across The Compleat Food Group who has contributed to the growth of the unearthed® brand in any capacity. Our collective unearthed® effort by default is a collective Action Against Hunger effort, and I would like to say thanks. Thanks a million.”