Asda stores in Birmingham donate 250,000 meals to local charities and groups

Our stores in and around Birmingham have donated a total of 250,000 meals to local charities and community organisations thanks to a partnership with FareShare Go.

As part of our Fight Hunger Create Change programme, we've been working with FareShare to donate surplus food from stores across the city to local charities and community groups.

Charities in the community sign up to the scheme through FareShare Go so they can receive quality, in date produce, which often includes bread, bakery items, fruit, vegetables, and eggs, but which can no longer be sold in stores due to damaged packaging or shorter sell-by dates.

With help from Asda colleagues and FareShare, charities and community groups can receive up to five collections a week from Asda supermarkets, superstores and supercentres across the country.

One organisation which has been receiving the surplus food is Leslie’s Care Packages, a voluntary community group situated in Stourbridge, West Midlands, providing much needed provisions to people in need all across the Black Country.

Vi Wood, the founder of Leslie’s Care Packages, said: "We signed up to FareShare when the lockdown started, and I collect food through local Asda stores and the donations are brilliant. I collect through Asda Coseley, where the colleagues are supportive and I normally get items such as fresh bakery produce and eggs, which are always helpful.

"As lockdown came in March, a lot of other organisations closed down so I was getting referrals every day, it was non-stop. March to July were the worst months and I saw hundreds of families, delivering up to five parcels to each one. The support from Asda and FareShare has meant that we’ve been able to support the most vulnerable people in our communities through this difficult and uncertain time."

Our Brierley Hill store is one of the stores supporting the scheme – the store's community champion Kirsty McCormack is pictured above with a donation of items for the Black Country Food Bank as part of our Fight Hunger scheme.

Store manager Stephen Thomas said the store is delighted to donate surplus food to FareShare as well as providing the collection trolleys in store to help the local food bank.

He said: "We are collecting over two trolleys a week for the Black Country Foodbank which are supporting those who have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. I would like to say thank you to all those customers who continue to give generously and supporting our local community. It's great that the customers here in Brierley Hill continue to support those in need in the area."

Karen Todd, Senior Manager for Asda’s Zero Waste, said: "We’re really proud of our Fight Hunger Create Change programme and we know our customers and colleagues are extremely passionate about us tackling poverty. This scheme is helping us to do that right in the heart of our local communities and we’ll continue to provide meals and support for those who need it most as we continue to change the face of poverty in the UK.”

Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive at FareShare, said: "We’re incredibly thankful to Asda for their continued efforts in redistributing store surplus throughout Birmingham - this food is needed by people now more than ever. The coronavirus pandemic has put a strain on a lot of charities and community organisations, with increased demand as more families face financial hardship."

The FareShare Go scheme has now rolled out in all Asda stores across the UK. Asda has also donated £23 million across two years to FareShare and the Trussell Trust, a leading food bank network, to help create long-term positive change to poverty in the UK.

The donation has already helped expand FareShare’s food distribution network and allowed the charity to accept donations of fresh produce so they can help more people in need. It has also enabled the Trussell Trust to fund additional services, such as debt and benefit advisors, for recipients of its emergency food parcels.

For further information and get food for your organisation, visit https://fareshare.org.uk/getting-food/fareshare-go-support/.