Sussex Foodbanks To Benefit From Funds Raised By Co-Operative Members

Co-operative members have raised more than £75,000 to help food banks and those who rely on their services.

The donation will be shared between 75 food banks which are currently supported by customers' goods donations in Southern Co-op's retail and funeral care branches including 13 foodbanks in Sussex.

More than £48,000 was raised by customers swiping their membership cards as Southern Co-op has pledged to donate 2p to the pot per qualifying transaction.

Through the co-operative's Share of the Profits scheme 2021/2022, a further £22,570 was donated by members. Colleagues donated the remaining funds from a one-off support payment.

Sarah Adams, Operations Manager at Chichester District Foodbank which is one of the foodbanks to benefit, said:

"Chichester District Foodbank relies on donations to provide vital help while building a future where no one needs emergency food.

"Last month alone they fed 432 adults and 280 children with emergency food parcels. This is a 77% increase compared with January 2022.

"As demand increases amid the cost of living crisis, their food donation levels have remained the same. They need our support to allow them to help the growing number of people who are struggling to buy the essentials. If you are looking to donate, check their website to see what items are most needed that week."

Emma Dring, Senior Fundraising and Communications Manager at FareShare Sussex & Surrey, said:

"Thank you for supporting FareShare Sussex & Surrey. In the last year we have provided 165 local organisations with more than 99 thousand tonnes of food. It costs us just 23 pence to provide a meal to one of our charity partners - so those 2p's soon add up!"

Other foodbanks in Sussex supported with donation points at The Co-operative Food stores include Bognor Regis - Trussell Trust, Brighton Food Bank, Eastbourne - Trussell Trust, Hastings Food Bank - Trussell Trust, Haywards Heath Food Bank, Horsham District Foodbank, Littlehampton & District Food Bank, Salvation Army Hove, Sussex Homeless Support, The Purple People Kitchen in Portslade, and Worthing Soup Kitchen.

Natalie Williams, Community Engagement Director from Hastings Foodbank, said:

"We'd want people know how much every donation means to us and, more importantly, to local people facing crisis situations this winter.

"At the moment we'd encourage people to keep donating food, especially if they got out of the habit during the pandemic lockdowns. Thank you very much for your support."

Between February and December last year, 17, 566kgs of goods were donated to foodbanks by customers and members.

In December £40,000 worth of gift cards were also shared by Southern Co-op to food banks across the south to help families and individuals affected by the cost-of-living increases.

Holly Bramble, Southern Co-op's Community Lead, said:

"It makes me incredibly proud when I see how much money and food our customers have enabled us to donate to foodbanks. One food bank we spoke to reiterated that every tin of food makes a difference and I have seen this first-hand.

"We know times are tough and many foodbanks have seen donations drop whilst demand increases. So we want to encourage our customers to keep swiping their membership cards but we'd also like to thank all of the people behind the scenes at these foodbanks who make the impossible possible. Thank you."

Members of Southern Co-op, which is a regional, independent co-operative, have also made it possible for more than £26,000 to be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukraine Humanitarian appeal.

This was from Southern Co-op's Share of the Profits scheme, and Southern Co-op donations based on the number of members attending the AGM and voting in the Board Election.

To find out more about becoming a Southern Co-op member, visit https://southern.coop/membership/your-membership.