Fleetwood Town Community Trust packaged and distributed more than 300 food hamper boxes for local people, whilst also donating 120 bags of treats to Fleetwood Pantry’s regular customers.
The initiative was an incredible embodiment of community spirit, with support from various partners within and externally to the Fleetwood Town family and received support so that the people of Fleetwood could join in festive cheer.
The boxes contained a variety of items, including staple food items, such as soup and other tinned goods, pasta, milk, and sweet treats; with over 3,000 individual food items distributed.
The food hampers were distributed by Community Trust staff to targeted local families through local schools and identified people in need of support through community groups such as the Salvation Army and Fleetwood Family Health and Wellbeing Service.
David Dunwell, Fleetwood Town Community Trust CEO, said: “We know that this year has been particularly tough for many due to the cost-of-living crisis, so we at Fleetwood Town Community Trust - supported by others within the Fleetwood Town family and beyond - wanted to give back.
“We were blown away by the generosity of others with a particular note of thanks to all that donated and to my committed colleagues who gave a combined total of over 120 hours of their time.
“The ‘Hampers for Locals’ initiative is our flagship Christmas Humanitarian initiative, but we have also run other initiatives including football boot collections and a Christmas dinner for local Veterans.”
To support Fleetwood Town Community Trust’s £1,500 investment and other donations, the BES group kindly donated £1,000 towards the purchase of food and supplies towards the hampers.
Andy Pilley, Chairman and owner of BES and Fleetwood Town Football Club, and Joel Chapman, Group Head of External Affairs, joined the Trusts CEO and other staff in visiting Fleetwood Pantry to deliver the bag donations, whilst undertaking a tour of the facilities and meeting some of the centre’s passionate volunteers.
Andy spoke of his experience: “When the Community Trust approached us about helping feed those most in need this festive season, we jumped at the chance to get involved. It was a truly humbling experience, and we were blown away by the scale of the operation at the Pantry, as well as the sheer amount of work and organisation involved in running the service.
“I was delighted to have been able to meet the amazing volunteers and have already spotted some additional ways we can support those who may be struggling. My team and I be working with the Pantry to roll these initiatives out early in the new year.”
All at Fleetwood Town Community Trust hope all local people have a great Christmas and for those who received a food hamper, we hope it puts a smile on your face and eases the burden during this difficult time.
We would like to thank the following for helping with this initiative: Fleetwood Town Football Club, Fleetwood Town Community Trust, Fleetwood Town Juniors, Fleetwood Town Former Players Association (FPA), BES Group, Morrisons Thornton-Cleveleys, Asda Fleetwood, Guest Services Worldwide, St Wulstans and St Edmunds Primary School (Year 6), Larkholme Primary School (Year 6), and St Mary’s Fleetwood (Year 6).