‘Essentials’ food box now available
Halton Borough Council has teamed up with social enterprise Community Shop to launch a new ‘essentials’ food box delivery service aimed at those self-isolating or requiring food access and support.
The food box includes essential, non-perishable items like cereal, pasta, soup, UHT Milk, toilet rolls and toiletries. Pet food add-ons are also available for owners of cats and dogs. The boxes can be ordered from Monday to Friday, for delivery between Monday and Saturday.
The cost of the food box is £10, if a person is in receipt of any income top up benefit or they are facing financial hardship because of COVID-19.
The food box delivery scheme has been supported by Community Shop’s long-standing partner and online grocery retailer, Ocado, whose generous donation has enabled the creation and delivery of the parcels, which are packed with heavily subsidised products to help stretch family budgets.
Talking about the new service Cllr Ron Hignett, Halton Borough Council’s Executive Board Member for Physical Environment said: “No one should be struggling to get hold of food during this crisis. We know that delivery slots are in high demand and that there are lots of people who do not have friends or family to help them with their shopping. This new low-cost service fills that gap and makes sure that people, who need it, have a good selection of essentials to keep them going.”
Natalie Brown, Head Of Community Shop, said:
“We are all incredibly proud to be working so closely with Halton Borough Council on this initiative and by working together we are helping to provide a life-line to our local communities at a time when they need us most.
“We have been pleased to be able to rapidly scale up our operation by leveraging our existing infrastructure and logistical capacity, we have been able to provide immediate food access and support. We are hugely grateful for the hard-work that has gone in to making these food boxes by our hidden heroes from Operations and with support from our colleagues in Halton Community Shop.
“We hope to be able to continue providing support in the region, as we aim to make a difference by supporting even more families and changing even more lives”.
Whilst the specific products within each food parcel can vary, the boxes generally consist of a range of the following items.
Cereal, UHT mil, breakfast bars, tea, coffee, soups, snack pots, cooking sauces, tinned products, toilet rolls and toiletries.
Orders can be placed by calling 0151 907 8363 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm). Only card payments can be accepted.
Community Shop is part of Company Shop Group – the largest commercial redistributor of surplus food and household products in the UK. Community Shop’s Runcorn store is located at Priory House, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 2FS. For opening times and membership enquiries call – 01928 759574 or call in to apply for membership.