Co-op Midcounties makes 10,000 food deliveries to vulnerable people

• Customers and members can request specific essential items to be delivered to their door

• The society has contacted its members to gather the details of vulnerable people in need of help

Co-op Midcounties has made 10,000 home deliveries of essential food supplies to the most vulnerable members of local communities throughout the Covid-19 outbreak.

Since launching a home delivery service from scratch earlier this month, the society has partnered with 100 volunteering groups and 600 volunteers to deliver groceries to local community members in self-isolation.

The co-op has contacted more than 52,000 Midcounties members across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands to offer support, as well as gathering the details of vulnerable people living locally to its food stores in need of help with shopping deliveries.

As part of the service, customers and members can request specific essential items to be delivered to their door by volunteering groups.

Community volunteering group A Helping Hand, from Oxfordshire, made the 10,000th delivery through its partnership with Co-op Midcounties’ food store in Grove.

“To reach the 10,000 deliveries milestone within just one month of launching the scheme is just fantastic,” said Midcounties CEO Phil Ponsonby.

“Our colleagues have been working tirelessly with local community groups to identify vulnerable households that need help with their shopping, and I’m delighted we’ve been able to have such a positive impact.

“This achievement demonstrates the power of co-operative member-based organisations to mobilise people across our regional communities to help make people’s lives easier – which is even more important in such challenging times. I’m incredibly grateful to all those people that have made the service such a success already, including the amazing volunteering groups who we’ve partnered with on the scheme.”