Co-op swaps traditional Christmas ad for focus on community-led food initiative
Melanie May | 17 November 2022 | News
Instead of a traditional multi-million pound TV commercial this Christmas, Co-op is instead raising awareness of affordable community food projects helping to support households during the cost-of-living crisis.
Co-op has partnered with Your Local Pantry – a membership-based food scheme and community hub, and instead of spending on a big TV campaign, will channel funds into this partnership instead. It will also host a live stream from “Your Local Pantry”, to highlight community food initiatives.
Yesterday also saw Co-op team up with TV chef and rapper Big Zuu, streaming live on Big Zuu’s Instagram from Your Local Pantry in Peckham. The livestream saw a live cookalong, with chef, presenter and author, Miguel Barclay also joining in to share tips and tricks on how to make groceries go further.
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The partnership with Your Local Pantry is funded by Co-op’s membership programme, which sees 2p in every pound spent split between the Local Community Fund and the Community Partnerships Fund. The aim is triple the Your Local Pantry network within three years from 75 to 225 Pantries across the UK with 150 new Pantries, and to support over 32,000 households during this time.
Pantries are run by uniformed staff and volunteers, and are open to all. Members pay a few pounds a week, and in return can choose groceries worth many times more. At the Peckham Pantry for example, it costs £4.50 for around £15 of food.
Shirine Khoury-Haq, Group CEO at Co-op said:
“Whilst many of our competitors are also adapting their Christmas ads to reflect the mood of the nation in a cost of living crisis, we are going further by pulling our ad altogether. In doing so we will be shining a light on the need to support vital community causes, throughout the year and not just at Christmas, especially with a deep recession looming.”
“Our unique Co-op membership continues to drive our thinking and through our members incredible support, we are able to channel our resources and make local differences in ways no others can match. Through their ongoing commitment we can make society fairer and more co-operative.”
James Henderson, Your Local Pantry Network Development Coordinator, added:
“Pantries are fantastic places. They bring people together around food, soften the impact of high living costs, and strengthen the power and potential of neighbourhoods. Communities have long wanted to improve food security while upholding dignity, choice and hope, and Pantries are a proven win-win solution. We’re really excited to be teaming up with the Co-op, so another 150 neighbourhoods can open Pantries of their own.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.