Friday, 21 August 2020
- Excess food and spare supplies donated to charities and groups in Sheffield
- Part of EMR ongoing commitment to supporting local communities
East Midlands Railway (EMR) has been supporting Sheffield charities and groups that provide crucial services for some of the most vulnerable people in their city.
EMR has been donating excess food and other supplies that were not being used due to the Covid pandemic to the S6 Food Bank, The Food Works and the Cathedral Archer Project on a weekly basis.
Emily Bowes works for the Cathedral Archer Project, a charity based in Sheffield city center supporting homeless people.
She said receiving donations from EMR during the lockdown project was crucial and helped them continue to support homeless people across the city; “Throughout lockdown we at the Cathedral Archer Project continued our work with homeless people providing access to food, showers, laundry facilities, phones, computers and medical professionals.
“At the height of lockdown, alongside numerous agencies, we were providing 200 meals a day to those rough sleeping and vulnerably housed. The amazing donations of food we received from East Midlands Railway were vital in enabling us to provide these meals and continue to support individuals. Thank you.”
Ashley Cooke is the Operations Manager at The Food Works – a non-profit social enterprise which saves food from being wasted and makes it available to the people of Sheffield.
Over the lockdown period it redistributed almost half a million meals of food, delivered 6000 meals to the doorstep of vulnerable people and handed out more than 9000 food boxes via its market.
He said its work with EMR was a great example of how local businesses and communities pulled together during what was a very difficult time for everyone.
She said: “It's been fantastic to see the whole city come together to help feed our local community. The surplus food provided by EMR, throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, has been put to good use and greatly received. The partnership we have shows how important collaboration is, especially in such a difficult time.”
Debbie Atha, Customer Experience Development Manager at East Midlands Railway, said: “At EMR we are very passionate to work with, and support, the communities we serve. These projects and charities are vital to some of the most vulnerable people in our region and we are proud to be able to offer our support at what has been a very difficult time.”