Fun and freebies were on offer at Central England Co-operative store at Lichfield Food Festival
Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 30/08/2016
Central England Co-operative helped entertain thousands of people as part of a successful Lichfield Food Festival.
The joint-headline sponsors hosted a special stall in Market Street at the popular event, which took place on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 August, and handed out 3,000 goody bags, free food samples and information on Co-op community projects.
This is the fourth Lichfield Food Festival that Central England Co-operative have sponsored and supported.
Dozens of colleagues and volunteers gave up their weekend to help support the event and to showcase the community ethos that runs through Central England Co-
operative.
Martyn Cheatle, Chief Executive of Central England Co-operative, said: “We were delighted to be involved in such a major event in Lichfield’s social calendar.
“Thousands of visitors from across the region descended on the city across the two days and we were proud to be part of a successful event that celebrates local producers and suppliers.
“Being a main sponsor of Lichfield Food Festival also allowed us to celebrate the fact that this is where our Business Support Centre is based and where the community ethos of Central England Co-operative emanates from across our trading area.”
The popular free-entry festival also showcased top chefs from across the region, a huge array of specialist food and drink, entertainment a baking competition, a brewing event and more.
The event featured over 150 stalls with a selection of traders offering a diverse mix of food and drink ranging from Caribbean to Middle Eastern cuisine to pop-up coffee shops and alcohol bars.
This year, the festival also welcomed two familiar faces of former Great British Bake Off contestants, Howard Middleton and Ali Imdad, who were presenting free baking demonstrations.
Morag Pringle, Lichfield BID Manager who heads up Lichfield Food Festival Committee and helped to fund the event, said: "This year's festival has been our most ambitious yet, with thousands of visitors descending on Lichfield to enjoy all the free events and to choose from a staggering number of delicious stalls and street food and drink.
"Lichfield Food Festival wouldn't be possible without the support of our fantastic local businesses and organisations. This is the fourth year that Central England Co-operative has backed the food festival, this year as a joint-headline sponsor. It's great that such a big company continues to support our event, helping us to make sure it continues to grow."
Notes to editors
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 projected gross sales of £958million for 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property. Central England Co-operative has more than 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. The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2015/16.
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 including Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.
For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative
Rob Smyth / Jo Baldock at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop