Lidl boost for our foodbank campaign

L to r - Paul Trigg, Lidl Area Manager, Craig Stewart, Lidl Head of Sales, Amy Johnson, Lidl Mexborough Store Manager and Sean Gibbons, MD of Food Aware

The firm has agreed to set up an arrangement with the Mexborough foodbank, run by Food Aware, and will have a customer food donation point in store to boost supplies available to be given out to people in need.

Also, Food Aware have now started a food waste pilot with Lidl, also in Mexborough, collecting surplus and unsaleable food such as short-dated, past best before date, and food in split packets, to further boost local food parcel supplies as part of a project to cut food waste.

Sean Gibbons, Managing Director of Food Aware, a community interest company, said: "Demand for food parcels via Mexborough Foodbank have doubled over the winter period so these food supplies are much needed.

"The Lidl food waste/donated food partnership will strengthen our ability to assist more local families via Mexborough Foodbank and throughout our community projects network moving forward and fits with our ethos to 'Feed People Not Landfill'.

"We operate a referral policy and work very closely with local partners such as Doncaster Council Stronger Communities, Mexborough Citizens Advice, and St Leger Homes to ensure that the food goes to those most in need."

Paul Trigg, Area Manager at Lidl added: "We have supporting Food Aware and Mexborough Foodbank for over three years on a seasonal basis. We are are now extremely pleased to be able to announce a regular food waste donation project to support Food Aware and the community projects they support each week. We will be shortly introducing a new 'customer donation point' so that our customers can also support this cause in the local community."

We launched the Free Press Doncaster Foodbank campaign to call on residents and businesses to help the borough’s foodbanks by making donations of food, or to offer premises as collection points.

The campaign was launched because of concerns from foodbanks and Citizens Advice Doncaster Borough, which issues food bank vouchers, over a major surge in demand while the new Universal Credit benefit was being rolled out across Doncaster.

Donations to Doncaster Foodbank can be dropped off at Tesco Extra at Woodfield Plantation, Woodfield Way, Balby, where there is a permanent collection point at the front of store, or delivered to Christ Church, Thorne Road, any Tuesday or Thursday between 9am and midday. Mexborough has collection points at Mexborough Library and the Family Hub on Wath Road from Monday to Friday 8.30am until 4.30pm.

The Thorne and Moorends Community Hub and Food Bank is open on Wednesday morning 9am to 12pm at Thorne Rugby Club. Food items which are most urgently needed include tinned fruit, long life fruit juice, tinned rice pudding, tinned meat, pasta sauce and rice. Doncaster Foodbank also takes toiletries, cleaning and sanitary products.