Donations collected through Lincolnshire Co-op’s Community Champions initiative will this quarter go to projects that support food sustainability.
Every time co-op members use their dividend cards in-store, a donation will be made to the scheme, to support a range of groups working to tackle food sustainability, including community cafes, food banks and growing projects.
Lincolnshire co-op said: “There are many different elements to food sustainability, such as enabling access to healthy food, reducing food waste, and ensuring educational resources are available. As a result there’s a real variety in the groups we’re supporting through our Community Champions scheme.”
According to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), UK households waste 6.5 million tonnes of food every year, including 4.5 million tonnes of which is edible, with 70% of food waste coming from households.
Through the funds raised from September to December, Lincolnshire Co-op hopes to enable more people to make healthy, affordable meals at home whilst cutting down on food waste.
As well as tackling food waste, the co-op’s fund also aims to help reduce loneliness through social food projects as well as providing help for families and individuals experiencing food poverty.
Local groups benefiting from the scheme include voluntary organisation Green Futures and Willoughby Allotments, who both work to involve community members in the food growing process.
Announcing their participation in the scheme on Facebook, Willoughby Road Allotments said: “We have lots of plans to engage with schools and community groups with food growing and cooking projects, we are really looking forward to things to come.”
