Central England Co-op and Stafford Borough Council launch scheme to get food and essentials to vulnerable people
Central England Co-op has teamed up with Stafford Borough Council to launch a project aimed at getting food and essentials to vulnerable members of the community.
The retailer will link up with council workers to create a community hub at its Wildwood food store, in Cannock Road.
Stafford Borough Council will then identify vulnerable community members, gather orders and pass them onto the store. Central England Co-op colleagues will then create a package and take payment from the customer over the phone before the local authority delivers the goods.
The launch of this project comes after the scheme was successfully trialled at the retailer’s Boley Park food store, in Lichfield, with partner Lichfield District Council.
The rollout of the project with Stafford Borough Council is part of plan to create similar projects based out of Central England Co-op community hub stores across the 16 counties it trades in and even farther afield on a national scale.
Debbie Robinson, chief executive of Central England Co-op, said: “Co-operation is key to our communities coming together during this uncertain time and this is why we have linked up with Stafford Borough Council to launch this pioneering scheme during this uncertain time.
“This unique project will see the council contact vulnerable people in the community and work with us to deliver food and essentials to them.
“This is a great example of communities and organisations coming together at a time of need and creating a solution that will make a difference.
“Our trial in Lichfield has been and continues to be a great success. This is why we have now been able to launch in Stafford with our great partner Stafford Borough Council to help more people in the local area.
“We have further plans in place to rapidly roll out this out across other locations to make sure we support as many people as we can in the coming weeks.”
Stafford Borough Council leader Patrick Farrington said: “Thank you to all those who are involved in supporting our community. It has been amazing to hear about the offers of help we have already received. By working together and supporting each other we are demonstrating the true meaning of ‘community’.
“This will help ensure the council will be on the frontline with our partners in ensuring provisions reach our vulnerable residents.”
The council will not be asking for any payment information when they make the initial call. To find out more, visit staffordbc.gov.uk/Coronavirus
