Support for food sustainability projects

From growing projects to community cafes, local food sustainability groups will be benefiting from an incredible £186,909 worth of donations, thanks to our Community Champions scheme.

Kids clubs, cooking classes, and communal spaces for learning about reducing waste and healthy eating – these are just a few of the 27 projects in the local area benefitting from the money raised by dividend card holders colleagues and customers during September through to November.

Newark Food Bank provides essential food and hygiene products to vulnerable people and, as one of the selected groups for the quarter, has now received a cheque for almost £11,000 to support a move to a new premises in the town centre, which will also be home to a new social supermarket.

The social supermarket is a place where people will be able to pick items up cheaply, helping to end food poverty.

Lesley Marshall, Manager at Newark Food Bank, said: “Being in the centre of town, we’ve had more people popping in to see what’s going on and offer help and support. It already feels like we’re more integrated into the community.

“If we didn’t have this kind of backing, we wouldn’t be able to keep going for very long, and we’re just so grateful for the support.”

Old Wood Organic is a group based in Skellingthorpe dedicated to enabling people of Lincolnshire to enjoy healthy food and an outside space. They were also selected as a food sustainability Community Champion.

They received just over £10,000, which will go towards making facilities more accessible and creating a larger sheltered space for learning and growing.

Benjamin Willetts, owner of Old Wood Organic said: “We’re trying to teach people how to grow their own food, so that we have a healthier community and a healthier environment.

“The access track will enable us to have more people visit the site and building a sheltered space will mean we can have year-round learning, too.

“Thank you so much for the support from the Community Champions scheme, it means that places like us can continue our work.”

Every time a member shops with their dividend card, a donation is made to the Community Champions scheme. This, along with colleague fundraising, collection boxes, and carrier bag sales, produced the terrific total.

Danielle Budworth, Community Co-ordinator at Lincolnshire Co-op said: “Thank you to all our members, colleagues, and anyone who’s chosen to drop their change in a collection box or support any of our fundraising activities.

“It’s amazing to see the community come together to support such a worthy cause, that has so many components to it – healthy eating, caring for mental health, and looking after our environment.”

Totals raised for each group can be found here.