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Since the start of the pandemic, thanks to our colleagues, members and customers, we’ve already donated 5 million more meals to those going hungry by raising money for FareShare.* 

You may also have seen England football player Marcus Rashford lending a hand to our campaign, by appearing in our advert with Co-op and FareShare colleagues. We then backed Marcus’ #MakeTheUTurn campaign to extend free school meals to children who need them over summer. All the pupils at our 25 Co-op Academy schools who usually rely on free school meals, will continue receiving Co-op vouchers every week of the summer holidays too. 

This is all amazing, but there’s still too many people going hungry, we need to do more. 

When you buy our 3 for 2 picnic range, we’ll donate 20p to those going hungry 

Here’s one very simple way you can help: when you buy from our 3 for 2 picnic range this summer, we’ll help those going hungry.^† Just pick up anything from our picnic range and we’ll donate 20p to the National Emergencies Trust to help those in need, even if you’re not buying 3 items to qualify for the 3 for 2 deal.° Find out more about the picnic range and the 3 for 2 deal on our website. 

If you’re a Co-op Member, you can still donate your 5% member reward to the Co-op Members’ Coronavirus Fund too. As well as supporting FareShare, the fund provides support to bereaved families of key workers lost to the virus, who cannot afford their funeral and to local causes tackling the impacts of the virus within our communities.  

Donate your 5% member reward by logging into your online Membership account. We’ll be collecting money for this fund until 31 August. 

Making sure no good food goes to waste 

Our ambition is that no good food goes to waste. When we have extra food at one of our depots, we share it with those in need through our partner FareShare. But, for food at our stores, we partner directly with local food charities and community groups to share good food that would otherwise have gone to waste. We call this Food Share and we’re always looking for more causes to join. If you’re a local food charity or cause, please apply to join Food Share online. 

We can all do our bit to make sure no good food goes to waste, did you know each UK household throws away on average £500 worth of food each year? Find out more about how you can reduce your own food waste on our website. 

Kate Rodger 
Food Redistribution Manager 

Read more on how we support greater access to food for all at our Co-op; 

• How our Food Share partners are helping reduce food waste 
• How we’re tackling food waste and helping your community 

*Total includes food donations made by Co-op (£1.5 million in value) as well as those paid for by fundraising and donations of Co-op Members’ 5% member reward to the Co-op Members’ Coronavirus Fund 

^† Co-op will donate 20p per product sold in the picnic range between 15 July 2020 and 25 August 2020. Maximum donation of £2 million will be donated to the National Emergencies Trust (NET) to help support local food charities. Registered Charity in England, Wales (1182809) and Scotland (SC050062). See in store for details. Varieties as stocked. Subject to availability. 

° 3 for 2 on selected picnic packs. If multiple packs are purchased, only the cheapest items will be included in the deal. Cheapest item free. Subject to availability, varieties as stocked. Valid from 6 May 2020 to 25 August 2020.