Earlier this week Gabriella Labrum, Senior HR Officer, and Henry Gough, Management Accountant at Avara Foods visited The Lord’s Larder Food Bank. They donated £290 on behalf of the Avara Foods’ Newent factory, raised by colleagues undertaking a week-long bake sale prior to the pandemic. The food bank will be using this money to buy essential foods and toiletries for those who access the charity’s services.
The Lord's Larder Food Bank, provides food and personal care products to those in need in the Forest of Dean, Newent, Leadon Vale and West of Severn. All those who find themselves unable to feed themselves or their families in the locality are eligible for short-term assistance from the charity. It opened in 2010 and is run and maintained entirely by volunteers.
As well as the donation made on Monday, our Newent colleagues donated just over £1,000 in April, and will be collecting food in the coming weeks to help the food bank provide much-needed provisions over the Christmas period, including goody bags for children. Recognising unemployment is a key factor in the need for many having to access The Lord’s Larder’s services, the charity is providing information about Avara Foods’ recruitment opportunities to those accessing its services.
Geoff Pugsley, Site Manager at Avara Foods in Newent, commented, “It’s great to see colleagues coming together to raise money for such a good cause. Given the nature of our business, we appreciate better than anyone the importance of accessible foods and we’re delighted to assist however we can. We’re excited to be partnering with The Lord’s Larder in the run up to Christmas to help local people in need during the festive season, and look forward to welcoming those who find themselves unemployed during these challenging times.”
We’re conscious of our influence as large business and make every effort to ensure we make a positive impact wherever possible. We also recognise our role in local communities during these uncertain times and take our responsibilities seriously. As well as local initiatives such as our Newent colleagues working with The Lord’s Larder, the wider company has long been a supporter of FareShare, the charity aimed at relieving food poverty in the UK through food distribution programmes. Our contributions to FareShare are redistributed to a network of over 200 charities and community groups, including schools, foodbanks and homeless shelters, and providing thousands of meals a week for people in need.