COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Generous supermarket shoppers donated food to help stop Coventry’s poorest people going hungry.


Cerys Ramsey 4 hands over some food to Lesley Johnson

A team of volunteers from Barclays bank staged a one-day drive for donations at Tesco in Walsgrave on July 15 in support of the Coventry Foodbank, a new charity which launched earlier this year.

Working two-hour shifts each volunteer invited Tesco shoppers to buy an extra item of long-life food such as rice, tinned meat, vegetables or cereals which were placed in a collection bin when leaving the store.

The event formed part of the bank’s ongoing commitment to the charity, as Barclays staff had already collected and donated more than 200kg of long life food in bins placed in the company’s offices at Crosspoint Business Park.

Lesley Johnson, Barclays personal banker, explained why the company believes so strongly in the charity.

She said: “We actively encourage our staff to support local community projects and there has been a great deal of enthusiasm to work with the foodbank.

“We believe the project is making a real difference for many people across the city that would otherwise go hungry.”

Tony Thompson, community manager at Tesco Crosspoint, was pleased to get the store involved. He said: “This food collection is an amazing example of how organisations can work together to really benefit our local community.”

Seven city churches run the Coventry Foodbank, all with a shared vision to meet the needs of the area’s most vulnerable people to ensure no one in Coventry goes hungry.

Gavin Kibble, Coventry food bank manager, said: “Businesses like Barclays and Tesco that continue to support us ensure that no one who comes to the foodbank leaves without food.

“We are very grateful for their support”.

The Coventry Foodbank is a part of network of 102 Trussell Trust foodbanks nationwide.

For more information and to help the charity, email ccfoodbank@mosaicchurch.co.uk or call 024 7663 3500.