A Fenland pet food factory plans to support more than 500 families in need this summer holiday on behalf of all of their employees.
Nestlé Purina in Wisbech, which employs 512 workers, wants to help families who might otherwise go hungry during the school six-week holidays.
It is all part of Nestlé’s new £1 million investment to work with social enterprises ‘Community Shop’ and ‘FoodCloud’.
Funding will be used to improve access to food that specifically meets the nutritional needs of families and children, which FoodCloud’s current surplus supply cannot always meet.
Stefano Agostini, chief executive officer of Nestlé UK & Ireland said: “Access to food is an urgent problem made worse by this global pandemic.
“As schools begin their summer break today, millions of children are at risk of holiday hunger.
“On behalf of our 8,000 employees in the UK and Ireland, we will be helping 8,000 low-income families to access food and services over the summer.
“This is only a fraction of what is required, of course. Hunger and food insecurity are serious problems that require significant government-led action across the board.
“Nestlé is ready to play its part and we are looking at a range of further initiatives.
“Whether that’s increasing our regular donations to food banks or encouraging our people to use some of their 16,000 annual volunteer days to further support COVID-19 recovery efforts in their local communities.”
“The impact of Covid-19 will be far reaching but we must all take this chance to consider how we can do things differently for the future and contribute to a strong recovery.
“Nestlé UK & Ireland will focus its efforts over the coming months to build a more flexible and diverse workplace, adapt our business, help improve access to food, contribute to a green recovery and support youth employment.”
Community Shop, which works in areas experiencing some of the highest levels of deprivation in the UK, will use the investment to provide fresh, nutritious meals for vulnerable children and their families.
The funding will also support Community Shop’s broader aims to build stronger individuals and more confident communities through various services.
According to a recent Food Foundation survey conducted by YouGov, 3.2 million people in the UK living in households with children under 18 have suffered from food insecurity due to issues such as loss of income or isolation since lockdown began.
At the same time, research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that 1 in 5 households is experiencing poverty today.
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