Central England Co-op customers help their community eat as special ghost pumpkins prove popular

Posted by james brindle | Published: 04/11/2020

Central England Co-op has thanked shoppers for heeding the call to ‘help your community eat’ after they contributed to raising thousands of pounds to help distribute over 5,500 meals to tackle food poverty.

In the run-up to Halloween the retailer offered special ghost pumpkins for sale in its 240 plus stores across 16 counties with 50p from each sale going to benefit FareShare Midlands and its amazing work in the local area.

The special pumpkins have proved a hit with customers and members, with almost all the 4,900 pumpkins put on sale in stores sold meaning over £2,300 has so far been donated to FareShare Midlands to help communities eat in these uncertain times.

Central England Co-op is working with long-term partner FareShare Midlands to provide vital food that will ensure people at risk continue to eat well and stay healthy during the coming months.

Hannah Gallimore, Central England Co-op Corporate Responsibility Manager, said: “I would like to thank our kind-hearted customers for picking up one of our ghost pumpkins while they shopped in the run-up to Halloween to not only help make their festivities special but also give a boost to a great charity helping to ensure people do not go hungry.

“We are extremely proud of our long-standing relationship with FareShare Midlands and the life-changing impact we have been able to have over the past few years of working together and were delighted to have had this opportunity to give an extra boost to their work alongside our day-to-day work in partnership.”

Simone Connelly, director for FareShare Midlands said: “Thank you to everyone who bought a ghost pumpkin and supported FareShare Midlands this Halloween. Your donations will help us distribute 5,500 meals to people who are living in financial hardship and struggling to afford food.

“The support we receive from Central England Coop and its customers is fantastic, and we’re proud to be working together to fight hunger in our local communities.”

The success of the ghost pumpkins came as Central England Co-op saw its biggest pumpkin selling year on record in 2020, as families looked to celebrate Halloween with some of the usual tradition but in the safety of their own homes.

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 with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish.  

Our 7,900 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 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. 

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.4 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop