Real Food Store customers raise almost £100 for Exeter Foodbank

Customers at Exeter’s community-owned Real Food Store have raised almost £100 for Exeter Foodbank in just one month, by ‘rounding up’ their shopping bills to support the charity.

The funds have been raised as part of a new partnership between the Real Food Store and Exeter Foodbank, to support vulnerable and low-income Exeter residents to access high quality, local produce.

Launched in early February, the ‘Round It Up’ scheme gives Real Food Store customers the option of rounding up their receipt to the nearest pound, with the proceeds being used to provide vouchers to be distributed by Exeter Foodbank. The vouchers allow individuals who may not usually have access to fresh, local and organic food with the opportunity to make independent shopping decisions. Just four weeks after launch, the scheme has already raised over £70 for the charity.

Summer Varley, a co-manager at the Real Food Store who helped to kickstart the scheme, said: “As soon as we launched the ‘Round It Up’ initiative, the response of our community was fantastic. Straight away, our customers began asking to round up their shopping bill without even being prompted. We are really excited about this new partnership with Exeter Foodbank and to support members of the Exeter community who are facing hardship to access high quality food from local producers.

“The Real Food Store exists to support the connection between local supply chains and the community, and empower people to support sustainable, local food production. We are committed to ensuring that every member of the community can join the real food movement and help to make a difference through their food decisions.”

Foodbank Manager Mark Richardson said: “We are delighted to have formed a partnership with The Real Food Store to provide hard-hit local people with greater autonomy over their food choices. Since the Foodbank’s launch in 2008, we have grown to a team of over 100 volunteers and have supported countless individuals facing incredibly difficult circumstances. Collaboration is key to our operation, and the contribution already made by the generosity of Real Food Store customers demonstrates the positive impact that this scheme will have on the service we provide.”

The Real Food Store is a community-owned, not-for-profit food store supporting local supply chains and sustainable food production. In January the store partnered with Co Delivery to provide carbon-zero deliveries within Exeter and Topsham via a new Real Food online store.

To find out more about the Real Food Store, visit: https://realfoodexeter.co.uk/ 

To find out more about Exeter Foodbank, visit: https://exeter.foodbank.org.uk/