Stroud Foodbank has received £173 from The Midcounties Co-operative’s food bank fund, launched at the outbreak of the pandemic to help ensure all those in need could continue to access essential supplies.


The latest donation means that Stroud Foodbank has now received more than £1,380 over the past ten months from the fund, which is in addition to ongoing product donations from the Society and its customers.


The Midcounties Co-operative launched its foodbank fund in spring 2020 with an opening contribution of £25,000 and reopened it in December to ensure it could help food banks across its communities in the challenging month of January.


Through customer donations, and profits from the sales of the Society’s compostable bags, it raised a further £10,000 for food banks in December, taking the total amount raised since the beginning of the pandemic to more than £50,000.

 

Nikki Clarke, Stroud District Foodbank Manager said: “Our volunteers have been working flat out during the pandemic and we are seeing more and more people coming to us for help.

"January always tends to be a difficult month for food banks, and with another lockdown we’ve really needed the support this year.

 

“Donations like this one from The Midcounties Co-operative are a real lifeline and we literally couldn’t continue to support the community without their wonderful support and their customer’s generosity.

“We’d like to thank everyone who has made a contribution. Every donation, big or small, makes a difference.”

Throughout the pandemic, Midcounties Co-operative has been providing support to communities, including funding over £40k worth of childcare support for key workers, donating £5,000 worth of smartphones to help vulnerable people access support, and launching a £75,000 Community Restart Fund where charities and community groups could apply for emergency financial support.

Phil Ponsonby, chief executive at The Midcounties Co-operative, said: “Food banks like Stroud District Foodbank provide a vital service to the community but we know that they are currently under huge pressure, with more people than ever needing their help.

“At the same time, many food banks are struggling for donations.

“Our members, colleagues and customers in Stroud have shown amazing generosity and I hope this donation will go some way to helping the good work by the amazing volunteers at Stroud District Foodbank.

“At times like these, it’s all too easy for families experiencing financial difficulties to fall into food poverty, so its really heartening to see communities coming together to help each other through this crisis.”

The Midcounties Co-operative has also worked with local volunteers to make more than 100,000 free food deliveries to people who are self-isolating since the pandemic began.