Aico have recently been offering their support to local charities who are working extremely hard to get groceries to those that need it this Christmas.
Shrewsbury Food Hub, established in 2016 ensures that surplus food is being put to use, and avoiding potential waste overall. The Hub has now grown to provide food for 56 community groups including schools, youth clubs, Age UK centres, playgroups and children’s sports clubs.
Since its opening in 2011, Oswestry Foodbank has been able to provide emergency food to the local community, working with their network of Foodbanks to combat poverty across the UK. Throughout the pandemic, the Foodbank has been paramount in ensuring people don’t go without and have helped over 7,000 people in need, delivering 69 tonnes of groceries since the start of the crisis.
In order to help with the Christmas rush, Aico have provided the Oswestry Foodbank with space within their headquarters in Oswestry. This space will store all the donations that come in over the Christmas period. Alongside this, over 300 hampers will be created, picked up by volunteers and distributed within the local area. This has also given Aico employees the opportunity to volunteer their time with the foodbank, aiding with transport and donating any food they are short of.
To further support these charities in their busiest time of the year, Aico have pledged a donation of £2,000 to both organisations in recognition of the inspiring work they carry out all year round. These donations will be utilised for the purchase of any extra food that is needed as well as any daily running costs.
Community Liaison, Jane Pritchard said: ‘When our local foodbank approached us needing a room to store and pack their Christmas Hampers for families in need this winter, we were more than happy to help out. It was fantastic to see so many generous festive food donations from our local community and we are so pleased that we have also been able to support. The volunteers at the Foodbank have worked so hard through December, to provide food donations to those who really need it. Their efforts will ensure so many more families will enjoy Christmas this year.’
Katy Anderson, Co-founder Shrewsbury Food Hub comments: ‘The amazing ethos at Aico became obvious to us when we asked for help to store pallets of long-life food for the food banks. The positive attitude of the team was fantastic – finding us space, moving the food and volunteering to sort the pallets. That food made a huge difference to food banks across the county as they strived to support nearly twice the normal numbers of people with ever more complex needs. Corporate Social Responsibility in action!’
