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Since becoming a Member Pioneer I’ve been able to help make a difference in my local community by listening to my community’s needs and making connections.

Connecting communities

One of the first things I did when I started my role was meet with teams from my local Co-op Food store and Funeralcare home to find out how they thought we could make a difference, together. From this initial meeting we set up a community forum where we soon discovered food poverty was a real concern among the residents in our community.

Community food share scheme

Our community forum talked about concerns with the people who struggle to gain access to food regularly in our community. These people may be those with a disability or illness that makes getting to a shop difficult or those who are on a low income who are unable to fund their weekly food shops because of growing household bills and demands.

We decided that setting up a community food share was a simple and easy way to help those in need.We set up the food share scheme in our local community centre so local residents can drop off donations easily and those who need it can come by freely and take what they need.

In doing this we’ve helped not only those in our community who are experiencing food poverty, but we’ve helped bring our community closer together, thanks to the connections people are making through donating.

It makes me feel proud of the work I that I do when I see the difference it makes to other people.

If you’ve got ideas on how Co-op could help your community, or want to know what Co-op is doing near you then contact your local Co-op Member Pioneer.

Claire Penny
Member Pioneer, Nottingham (Rainworth)