Derbyshire good cause stars in new Co-op film designed to encourage people to help those in need this Christmas
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 04/12/2020
A good cause from Derbyshire is the main attraction in a special online short film created to encourage Central England Co-op shoppers to show ‘goodwill to all’ this Christmas.
The Residents of Fairfield Association, in Buxton, was handpicked to feature in the effort to help raise money to help tackle food poverty during the festive season.
The film tells their story and how shoppers can support good causes like them by picking up products from Central England Co-op’s Irresistible range.
In the run up to Christmas, every purchase will see the business donate five per cent from the sale of each product to FareShare Midlands to help ensure families struggling in these uncertain times can enjoy Christmas without fear of going hungry via groups like the Residents of Fairfield Association
Hannah Gallimore, Central England Co-op Corporate Responsibility Manager, said: “Christmas is the time of goodwill to all and therefore we are delighted to continue our work with FareShare on this campaign to tackle food poverty and help provide a Christmas boost for the families it works with.
“We know our kind-hearted customers will be more than willing to support by picking up products from our fantastic Irresistible range in their local shop, and by doing so giving the charity a boost and helping those families in need at this special time of the year.”
Co-op’s popular Irresistible range covers a huge array of products including lots of festive treats such as Co-op Irresistible Mince Pies, Co-op Irresistible Yule Log, Co-op Irresistible Christmas Pudding and Co-op Irresistible Pigs in Blankets, as well as all-year round favourites such as Co-op Irresistible Triple Chocolate Cookies and Co-op Irresistible Prosecco.
The Residents of Fairfield Association, in Buxton, work hard all year round to operate a food hub for local residents who are struggling to access vital essentials and has seen a major spike in people it supports during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lia Roos, from the Residents of Fairfield Association, said: “We have now been working with FareShare Midlands for four years now and the support and food they provide has been invaluable, especially during the past few months.
“We offer our service to any local residents in need and the scheme has always worked really well.
“But, like all support services, we have been hit hard during the pandemic and have seen interest rise. At the start we were helping 50 to 60 people a week which rose to upwards of 130 people at the height of everything that has been going on.
“Our arrangement with FareShare allowed us to cope with demand and we mixed delivering parcels to people to operating a socially-distanced collection hub for our food parcels.
“Without the likes of FareShare Midlands and the donation set to be made to them via Central England Co-op, we would really struggle to respond and make the difference we have locally. Both are amazing organisations.”
People can view the special online film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtzxgqYeIG8
Notes to editors
Picture caption: Lia Roos, from the Residents of Fairfield Association.
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.
Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish.
Our 7,550 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 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.
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