Our ongoing mission to help tackle food poverty

We have a long-standing relationship with FareShare Midlands to help put food on the table of more families across the region.

Our unsold best before and non-food goods are donated to the FareShare distribution centre, then delivered to those in need in our local communities. We’re now donating the equivalent of 4,460 meals a day or 22,132 a week – resulting in over one million meals a year

“We’re now donating enough food to create over 22,000 meals a week, supporting over 3,000 people in need. The process ensures that food is sorted, collected and delivered to good causes such as community kitchens, breakfast clubs and hostels”  Hannah Gallimore, Corporate Responsibility Manager, Central England Co-op

 “The combined effort between us and Central England Co-op has ensured that thousands more people across our region have access to perfectly edible food that would otherwise be wasted”  Simone Connolly, Director, FareShare Midlands

Eating well and staying healthy is particularly important during winter months, and especially when there’s the added threat of a pandemic. So we’re not stopping now. 

Case study The Residents of Fairfield Association

The Residents of Fairfield Association, in Buxton, work hard all year round to operate a food hub for local residents who are struggling to access vital essentials.

It has seen a major spike in people it supports during the Covid-19 pandemic and will be one of many good causes that will benefit from our members and customers who pick up an Irresistible product this festive season, allowing us to donate five per cent of every product sold to FareShare Midlands to ensure that people do not go hungry.

Lia Roos, from the Residents of Fairfield Association, said: “We have now been working with FareShare Midlands for four years now and the support and food they provide has been invaluable, especially during the past few months.

“We offer our service to any local residents in need and the scheme has always worked really well.

“But, like all support services, we have been hit hard during the pandemic and have seen interest rise. At the start we were helping 50 to 60 people a week which rose to upwards of 130 people at the height of everything that has been going on.

“Our arrangement with FareShare allowed us to cope with demand and we mixed delivering parcels to people to operating a socially-distanced collection hub for our food parcels.

“Without the likes of FareShare Midlands and the donation set to be made to them via Central England Co-op, we would really struggle to respond and make the difference we have locally. Both are amazing organisations.”

This year, the focus on making sure children do not go hungry has seen the Residents of Fairfield Association use some of its food from FareShare Midlands to create a special club to feed local youngsters this summer.

At some points during the summer need has been so great in Buxton that up to 120 kids a day were being supported with food.

Lia added: “We have had children of all ages coming to us and we have been able to help feed them all thanks to our great partners.”