Midcounties Co-operative relaunches Food Bank Fund initiative
The Midcounties Co-operative has relaunched its Food Bank Fund in the run-up to Christmas as it looks to raise donations and support for its food bank partners.
Throughout December, the retailer will be asking members, customers and staff to make monetary donations via till points and to drop essential grocery items into each store’s food bank collection boxes.
In addition, Midcounties will 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 will be distributed equally to each of the retailer’s 70 foodbank partners in January, when demand for food bank services is high.
The fund was launched at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and has since raised over £50,000 for food bank partners across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.
The retailer 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, chief executive 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.”
