Central England Co-op makes vital donations to projects supporting vulnerable residents across the West Midlands

Posted by james brindle | Published: 26/05/2020

Central England Co-op has been delivering vital donations of food and essentials to support projects across the West Midlands to provide a lifeline to vulnerable residents during the Coronavirus outbreak.

The retailer’s Western Membership and Community Council (MCC) made the decision to redirect over £1,200 in funds it had planned to use towards events which have had to be cancelled due to the outbreak, to make a real difference to projects working on the ground to support people in the region.

The projects being supported include Brum Baby Bank, which was initially set up at the onset of the pandemic when panic buying saw parents struggling to source products such as nappies, formula milk and baby food.

However, although supply chains have recovered, the project is still tapping into a real need for those families struggling financially during these uncertain times.

Tamworth Self Isolation Support Group, which not only aims to support those identified as extremely vulnerable by the Government but also those who may not fall under that category but who are still vulnerable and required to self-isolate, has also received food and essentials.

Additionally, the MCC has moved to get 100 packets of pasta and other items to Billesley School in Birmingham to support its ‘Community Boxes’ project which is providing essential food, personal hygiene items, activity and educational supplies to young families identified as the most vulnerable in their community.

James Knight, Member and Community Relations Officer at Central England Co-op who organised and made the deliveries to the projects, said he was happy the MCC were able to redirect funds to make a real difference in these challenging times.

He said: “Usually at this time of year our MCC Members and I would be out in the community at a range of different events such as fetes and festivals promoting what we do and running educational workshops.

“However, with normal life on hold and public events being cancelled and postponed, the MCC wanted to redirect its funds that would have been used on these events to make a real and immediate difference on the ground in our communities which are feeling the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak and the lockdown.

“We have been in touch with some fantastic projects that have showcased the very best of co-operation to help the most vulnerable in our communities during these difficult times and we are proud to be able to offer our support.”

People can keep up to date with what is happening in their local community by visiting a dedicated online hub at www.centralengland.coop/updates

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, travel 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 serving our 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 £1.3 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