Warwickshire Co-op stores relaunch initiative this Christmas to support foodbanks

The Midcounties Co-operative has relaunched its Food Bank Fund this Christmas to help raise vital donations and support for its food bank partners ahead of the challenging month of January.

Throughout December, Co-op stores across Warwickshire will be asking members, customers and colleagues to make cash donations via till points, as well as drop essential items into each store’s food bank collection boxes.

This year The Midcounties Co-operative will also be working with its anti-food waste partner, Too Good To Go, to donate £1 from each ‘magic bag’ of discounted food sold to the fund.

The donations raised from the Co-op Food stores in December will be totalled up and distributed equally to each of its foodbank partners in January, when demand for food bank services typically peaks.

These include Warwickshire-based food banks, such as:

~ Warwick District Food Bank

~ Bedworth Foodbank

~ Fosse Foodbank

~ Nuneaton Foodbank

~ St Edmunds Foodbank (Shipston Food Bank)

The Society’s Food Bank Fund was initially launched at the start of the pandemic to help ensure that all those in need could continue to access essential supplies.

It has since raised more than £50,000 for its food bank partners across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

So far this year Midcounties colleagues have delivered more than 18,000 hours of voluntary work to help in their local communities, and the Society will also be supporting any colleagues who wish to volunteer at their local food bank throughout the festive period and into the New Year.

The Society has also committed to donating any surplus food at its 25 Food Market stores to local food banks in the first week of January.

Phil Ponsonby, CEO at The Midcounties Co-operative, said: “Local food banks provide a vital service to communities all year round, but each year they feel the most pressure and demand for their services in January.

“After what’s been an especially difficult couple of years for many people, it’s never been so important for local communities to come together to help support those most in need.

“That’s why we’re relaunching our Food Bank Fund and are encouraging all of those who can afford it to donate what they can, of monetary or product value, at our stores this Christmas.”

Paschalis Loucaides, UK managing director at Too Good To Go, said: “It is devastating to see how many people in the UK do not have access to food when so much goes to waste on a daily basis.

"That’s why we’re incredibly proud to be working with The Midcounties Co-operative on their Food Bank Fund initiative this Christmas to help support the worthwhile and vital work of our country’s food banks.”