Behind the scenes look at pioneering project to feed vulnerable people in Burton

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 01/05/2020


Central England Co-op has provided a behind the scenes look at a ground-breaking project aimed at delivering vital care packages to vulnerable people in Burton.

James Knight, the retailer’s Membership and Community Relations Officer for the Western Region, is leading the project with Burton Albion Community Trust and today he reveals how it all works.

The project, which sees the Trust identify vulnerable people and work with the retailer to create and deliver vital food packages out of its community hub based in Stapenhill, has now supported over 20 people in a matter of days.

James said: “We have teamed up with the Trust to roll out this ground-breaking project to ensure that members of the community in Burton who are self-isolating continue to have access to shopping if they do not have family members to support them.

“The project started in Lichfield a couple of weeks ago and has been extremely successful.

“Local people who have been identified as vulnerable in the community will be contacted by the Trust to place an order which is then submitted to our hub based at the Central England Co-op store in Stapenhill.

“Dedicated hub colleagues then pick the order and contact the customer before a team from the Trust deliver the shopping to the customer, all within around 24 hours of the customer placing the order.

“It’s amazing to know that we are helping support our community at a time they need it.”

Special community hubs have also been created at food stores in Derby, Stafford and Lichfield, with more planned in the coming weeks across other areas where the retailer has stores.

The schemes, which have only been in place for a matter of weeks, have already helped over 650 people in total, with the number rising every single day.

Lisa Beard, Community Operations Manager at the Trust, said: “This has been a life-line for people in the community who are self-isolating and unable to get to the shops or online to access their regular shopping

“The Trust has worked with Central England Co-op on different projects over the last few years and we are delighted to partner again to get this vital project in place during a crucial time.”

Anyone who would like information about this project can find out more by emailing lisa.beard@burtonalbionct.org

 

 

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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, travel and property investment.

 

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish. 

 

Our 7,900 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

 

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 

 

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

 

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.3 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

 

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

 

 

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

 

Phone - 01543 421390

 

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop