Ali Kurji, Chief Executive of the Heart of England Co-operative Society
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
A national charity which fights hunger and food waste by redistributing foods to help the most vulnerable members of society has been given a helping hand by the Heart of England Co-operative Society.
The Society has donated £8,400 to FareShare which distributes food to charities that work with the homeless, the elderly, and impoverished families among others, as well as those more recently affected by poverty in the wake of the coronavirus.
The donation followed an appeal by FareShare ahead of the pandemic as the charity anticipated huge increases in the number of people needing access to donated food.
With 20 per cent of FareShare volunteers over the age of 70 – and therefore in self-isolation – the charity has had to pay for the hire of additional delivery vehicles and drivers.
FareShare will use the Society’s donation towards distribution costs over the next three months.
Simone Connolly is the Director of FareShare East Midlands.
She said: “The Heart of England Co-operative Society is a true partner of FareShare Midlands and this donation demonstrates its unquestionable commitment not only to us but to its communities.
“The donation has allowed us to pay for additional resource as we respond to the huge increase in demand that we are seeing due to this terrible virus.”
The money has helped to further strengthen the links between FareShare and the Society which started working together last year.
As part of their relationship the Society donates food from its shelves which does not sell by its ‘best before’ date.
The items, which include frozen, dried and tinned foods, are collected from the stores and sent to FareShare for distribution to community groups which work with homeless hostels, charities for the elderly, children’s breakfast clubs and community centres, among others.
The Heart of England Co-operative Society operates FareShare collection points in 15 of its stores, while the remaining 20 operate foodbank donation points for the Trussell Trust.
Ali Kurji, Chief Executive of the Heart of England Co-operative Society, said: “We have an excellent relationship with FareShare which works tirelessly with a number of charities and
organisations to ensure that no adult, child or family goes hungry.
“As with all charities the Covid-19 pandemic has placed FareShare under an unprecedented amount of strain and staff and volunteers are working harder than ever to ensure that food is still getting to those who need it the most.
“We are delighted to donate £8,400 to help the charity continue in the distribution of food among those who need it the most over the coming months.”
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