Shoppers can help families in need

OVER 40 local food banks across the region are set to receive vital funding to Lincolnshire Co-op’s Community Champions scheme. 

This week sees the start of donations being made to facilities such as Lincoln Food Bank (pictured below) each time shoppers use their Dividend card, which will run until September 5, 

Customers can also donate change when shopping in store, and colleagues and partners will be running food bank drives and other fundraising activities.

During the same period in 2025, the scheme saw over £242,000 raised for local Macmillan Cancer Support services, so the impact of this fundraising is anticipated to be significant.

According to Trussell Trust, food insecurity is a growing issue across the UK; in 2024, 16% of households faced food insecurity, rising from 12% in 2022. 

This means that at some point in the previous year, these households ran out of food and couldn’t afford more, and reduced the size of their meals, ate less, went hungry or lost weight, due to lack of money.

As well as providing emergency food and hygiene supplies, many food banks offer additional avenues of support.

All year round, each Lincolnshire Co-op food store has a donation bin for its local food bank, and a list of ‘most wanted items’ is displayed alongside it.

By contacting their local Community Co-ordinator, groups can have the lists updated, maximising the impact of donations.

Mary Leggett, Senior Community Co-ordinator at Lincolnshire Co-op (bottom picture) said: “As well as raising funds and encouraging more donations into food stores, our Community Champions campaign aims to raise awareness of the services that food banks provide and break down societal stigmas.

“Statistics show how many people need food bank support, and in a recent internal survey, many colleagues expressed that they would like to see food banks supported by Community Champions, so we know this is a cause close to many people.

There will be lots of opportunities to get involved, and we are so excited to see our community come together once again for a great cause.”