Central England Co-op launches urgent summer appeal to support food banks in the West Midlands during school holidays

Posted by james brindle | Published: 26/07/2022

Central England Co-op is launching an urgent summer appeal to help boost the stocks of food banks in the West Midlands and tackle the issue of holiday hunger during the school break.

The retailer has special collection points in over 200 of its stores where its customers and members can donate all year round, however it hopes to boost food bank supplies as they face soaring demand during the summer holiday period and due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Most requested items currently include UHT Milk, long-life juice, pasta sauce, sponge puddings, tinned fruit and vegetables, tinned meat and fish, rice pudding, washing up liquid and many food banks are also keen to receive toiletries such as deodorant and toothpaste.

The items donated are collected up, turned into parcels with enough food to create meals for three days and distributed to help people in need across Central England Co-op’s trading area.

Store Manager Gill Evans said: “We’ve had an amazing response to previous appeals to support our food bank partners at crucial times of the year and we know from speaking to them that sadly the demand is only growing for their services. The summer holidays is always a particularly busy time anyway with children off school and not able to receive free school meals if they’re eligible.

“This is why everyone involved at Central England Co-op is asking members and customers, if they can, to dig deep and help support some great and vital local good causes who are providing a lifeline to people in need in your community.”

Central England Co-op’s food bank partners across the country have reported that they are clearly seeing the impact of the rising cost-of-living and also that although demand for their services is rising, supplies are diminishing, and they are in urgent need of support.

Emma Coates from Tamworth Food Bank highlighted the desperate nature of the situation currently.

She said: “Our stock levels are extremely low at present and have been for several months. We have seen an increased demand for our services, especially from first-time service users.

“Our aim is to have a future where there will not be a need for Foodbank in the UK, which is why we offer 'More than Food', we are able to sit with people and signpost them to additional services to hopefully help them through their crisis. From the autumn, we will also be offering more in-house support, watch this space!

“With the cost-of-living biting, many of our key food items are getting too expensive for people to donate. We appreciate the support from our partner supermarkets, our financial donors, and each and every individual that donates to us. Our Foodbank would not be able to help as many people as we do without such support.”

Central England Co-op’s Summer Food Bank Appeal will run right across the summer holiday period and people can find their nearest Central England Co-op store at https://stores.centralengland.coop

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of members, its over 8,000 colleagues serve customers across 400 plus trading sites in 20 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Its purpose is to inspire communities to create a sustainable Society for all.

It actively campaigns for the Government to increase sentencing for violent attacks on retail workers and works with FareShare Midlands and hundreds of food banks, generating enough food donations to create over 2.1 million meals for people in need.

The Society embraces inclusivity and equality and is a signed-up member to the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter, while it is also fully committed to addressing the impact of climate change and is on track to be Carbon Neutral by 2030. 

It invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities through its Community Dividend Fund scheme which has seen over £175,000 shared out between 116 good causes over the past 12 months.

Central England Co-op was named Leading Co-op of the Year by Co-operatives UK in 2021.

Press office contact: James Brindle, Public Relations Lead

Contact details: email james.brindle@centralengland.coop and telephone 07392 080028.