Hundreds of families struggling to make ends meet during the cost-of-living crisis are to receive thousands of pounds worth of emergency food supplies to help them during the half-term break.
In the biggest ever logistical operation of its kind in the area, 480 food parcels donated by
Tamworth Co-operative Society are being delivered to local schools this week.
The schools, which are spread throughout Tamworth Co-op’s trading areas, will now
distribute the parcels to the families of pupils they have identified as most in need of help.
Heart of Tamworth says many parents are increasingly relying on their children having access
to breakfast clubs and free school lunches. Outside term times, they need help to feed their
children.
For the past two years the charity has been responding to the crisis by putting together food
parcels containing non-perishable items. These parcels from Tamworth Co-op contain
include tins of soup, baked beans, sweetcorn, meatballs, spaghetti, pasta sauces, cream
crackers, oats, cornflakes, milk, coffee, tea, biscuits and strawberry jam.
The supplies were taken from Tamworth Co-op’s town centre warehouse and dropped off at
HoT’s community centre in Silverlink Road on Monday.
As well as providing all supplies for the half-term parcel drop, Tamworth Co-op has donated
a further £1,000 worth of food to the charity’s HoT Shop, a community pantry.
Catherine Smith, chair of HoT, says everyone at the charity was bowled over by Tamworth
Co-op’s generosity.
“We can’t thank the Tamworth Co-op enough for donating such a huge amount of food. The parcels are by far the biggest we’ve ever been able to hand out and more schools are involved this time too. This will come as a godsend to hundreds of families. They are in urgent need of help during school holidays.”
Julian Coles, chief executive of Tamworth Co-operative Society, praised the efforts of staff in
the food division.
“They have been extremely motivated and have worked hard on this project. It’s a great pleasure to support this vital initiative. It’s hard to comprehend that so many people in our area are suffering such a degree of poverty, but it’s so inspiring that an army of fantastic people in this town are doing everything they can to help.”
The money for the project has been allocated from Tamworth Co-op’s Community Dividend
Fund which has raised more than £100,000 for worthwhile local causes over the past decade
alone.
