Charity donation allows for 2,500 meals to be prepared for people in need across Birmingham

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 27/07/2017

Central England Co-operative has made a charity donation which will allow 2,500 meals to be prepared for people in need.

The Society’s Membership and Community Council agreed to donate £500 to help Bournville Labour Party buy £1,000 worth of food for the B30 Foodbank in Birmingham.

The foodbank helps people across the whole of south Birmingham and the £1,000 helped purchase 627kg of food – enough to feed one person for two years.

James Knight, Central England Co-operative Member and Community Relations Officer, said: “We were more than happy to match funds raised by the Bournville Labour Party to help support this vital service.

“Our Membership and Community Councils are made up of Co-op members who are passionate about their community and want to make a difference with it – supporting this initiative is a great example of this in action.”

Bournville Labour Party raised £500 as part of a festival called CoCoMAD, which was attended by hundreds of people.

Local councillor Mary Locke said: “You can really tell how much community spirit there is in Bournville. We also owe huge thanks also to Central England Co-operative for matching funds.” 

The Society runs six regional councils across 16 counties, which are made up of Co-op members who are passionate about their community and want to make a difference within it.

Each council is given funding and support by the Society to organise activities and events ranging from keep fit and gardening to educational visits, school workshops and dance classes.

Anyone interested in finding out more should pop in to their local Central England Co-operative food store or email member.community@centralengland.coop

Notes to editors

Picture caption: Members of Bournville Labour Party buy £1,000 worth of food for B30 Foodbank in Birmingham.

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with gross sales of £927 million in 2016/17. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property investment. Central England Co-operative has over 400 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.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2017. 

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.
Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

Rob Smyth / Heather Clapton at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140

Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop