Your Co-op donates £18,734 to four Oxfordshire charities

The four charities, Oxford Food Hub, Cotswold Friends, Lawrence Home Nursing Team and Kidlington Community Hub, will each benefit from part of the donation from Your Co-op.

Oxford Food Hub redistributes food to more than 200 community groups and charities across the county.

The charity’s volunteers distributed 518 tonnes of produce last year alone.

Oxford Food Hub volunteers (Image: Oxford Food Hub)

Spencer Lawes, outreach and administration co-ordinator for Oxford Food Hub, said: "As we don’t charge to collect or deliver our food, donations like this are vital to ensure our support continues to reach over 200 charities and community groups, six days a week."

Cotswold Friends, combating isolation and loneliness in vulnerable and elderly citizens across the North Cotswolds, are also set to receive a portion of the funds.

The charity, now in its 76th year of service, aids roughly 2,000 people at any given time with the help of more than 350 volunteers.

Cathy Russell, marketing manager at Cotswold Friends, said: "This donation represents a significant milestone for the work we do in our communities, particularly in expanding our community support services focused on reducing isolation and loneliness."

Kidlington Community Hub runs several support groups and drop-ins for children up to five-years-old, parents, and carers.

A representative for the charity said: "We are overjoyed to receive this donation from Your Co-op.

"The impact of this will be far reaching, as it not only supports the day to day lives of children and their parents/carers, but it also supports the long-term emotional and mental health of many of those families that use our services."

The funds will also assist the Lawrence Home Nursing Team, based in Chipping Norton, to continue providing free end of life nursing care, in the comfort of the patients' homes.

Verity Fifer, head of fundraising, said: "As always, fundraising and donations continue to be vitally important to us, as we need to raise more than £500,000 annually to maintain our service."

Tarra Simmons, head of community and democratic engagement at Your Co-op, said: "We know how important donations like these are for our charity partners, as they serve the most vulnerable in their communities with much needed care and support.

"We look forward to seeing more of their remarkable work over the coming year and will continue to work closely with our charity partners to learn how we can provide further positive impact for local people."

The donation follows a successful annual Christmas Foodbank Appeal.

In December, more than £25,500 was raised from 183 Your Co-op Food stores.

These funds were then equally distributed to partners across the UK.