Central England Co-op community store in Cromer comes together to help those in need
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 07/05/2020
The community focused team at a Norfolk Central England Co-op store have been working around the clock to ensure vulnerable people across the community continue to have access to vital food and essentials.
Brad Tuckfield and his colleagues at Cromer Food Store, in Holt Road, have been doing everything from increasing donations to the local food bank to packing and delivering emergency food parcels to those who are self-isolating ever since the country was placed into lockdown.
They have even been donating baking goods to a member of the retailer’s Membership and Community Council (MCC) to continue efforts to bake treats for local NHS heroes working at nearby hospitals.
Brad said: “We've been working closely with Cromer Food Bank from day one of the pandemic.
“They send us a weekly update of what stock is crucially needed for the following week - for example last week was tinned meat, rice puddings and household goods – and we gather this up in store ready for them to collect.
“We've used MCC funds to support and also handed over all that has been donated in our instore collection point, which is usually a trolley full.
“We've also recently picked and prepared 15 emergency food parcels for the Benjamin Foundation. The team prepared, packed and loaded up these parcels within an hour of us being called up, which was unbelievable.
“We were on a tight turnaround due to the delivery logistics and need. The parcels were for young students struggling.
“Finally, we have five extremely vulnerable households we deliver shopping to weekly. My team have all been assigned a household and have taken it upon themselves to ensure their orders are picked and delivered safely each week.
“We are proud to be part of the Cromer community and work all year round to support in any way we can. Having these great connections in place has meant, when extra, vital support has been needed, we have been able to step up and help.
“I would like to say a big thank you to my team for their efforts and also say that I hope everyone stays safe and well during this time.”
People can keep up to date with what is happening in their local community in response to Coronavirus by visiting a dedicated online hub at www.centralengland.coop/updates
Notes to editors
Picture caption: The team from Cromer Central England Co-op Food Store hard at work helping the local community.
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