An ultra-marathon runner dubbed the “real-life Forrest Gump” will visit York during an endurance challenge.
Rob Pope will call at Nestlé’s KitKat factory off Haxby Road on Monday (September 7) as part of the challenge which will see him run 500 miles across Britain.
The challenge, called the Taste Trail, has been set by Nestlé and will see Rob travel on foot to help Britain reconnect with local food and communities.
Nestlé said the visit comes as new research revealed 25 per cent of people in York said they felt more disconnected than ever from where their food comes from.
For every mile Rob completes, Nestlé said it will donate more than 300 meal equivalents – over 175,000 meals in total – to Felix, the UK's largest food redistribution charity.
Rob’s visit to York will come five days after he started the challenge in Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland.
Rob said he is in York to “learn about how 100 per cent British milk and wheat are used to create the iconic KitKat”.
He will travel to Brighton, following a route that will allow him to discover how familiar ingredients are grown, produced and made.
The athlete said it will be his “slowest trip yet” but he is “excited to meet the people behind the ingredients which ends up in your morning coffee and your favourite chocolate bar”.
"As a runner, food was always fuel to me,” Rob said. “And most people treat it the same way. We grab it, eat it and move on. We don't always think about where it came from or who made it.
"Now I'm taking the long way back to it, slowing down to learn where my food is grown and produced right here in Britain.”
"I've spent my life trying to go faster,” he added. “This time I'm doing the opposite – slowing right down to learn where my food is grown and produced right here in Britain."
Read next:
- We found out if people are happy spending 50p to use public toilets in York
- £600,000 cuts to York library contract shelved as 'now isn't the right time'
- Meet the teenage York busker impressing crowds and cruise ship agent
Emma Keller, head of sustainability at Nestlé, said: "Most of us pick food up from a supermarket shelf without thinking too much about how it got there.
"But behind every product are the farmers, factory teams and local communities who make it possible. So much of the food we know and love are not just made in Britain but made by Britain.
"The Taste Trail is about following that farm to fork journey and meeting some of the people involved along the way. Rob is helping to shine a light on all the steps behind the food we eat, and just as importantly, how we make sure that any surplus food reaches those who need us most. We’re proud to be working with Felix, the UK’s largest food redistribution centre, to donate thousands of meals to those in need.”
Share