Salford organisations work together to support local people in need

Salix Homes has collaborated with a local school to donate hundreds of essential items to people in need across Salford. 

Thanks to an idea from our Senior Repairs Manager Alan Stockton and a generous donation made by Co-op Academy Swinton, The Family Food Fayre received an entire Salix Homes van worth of food and toiletries.

Alan said: “I volunteer as a Community Council Member at Co-op Academy Swinton, which had a surplus of food and toiletries that they had received from their central Community Development Team.

“They wanted to make sure that they could be put to good use before they started going out of date and so I contacted a colleague at Salix Homes, who told me about the Christmas charity collections.”

Salix Homes colleagues had been holding a series of collections for local charities, and The Family Food Fayre was scheduled to receive their donations the week before Christmas.

Based in St Thomas Church in Pendleton, The Family Food Fayre provides access to low-cost food parcels for people in need across Salford. Salix Homes supports the project by paying membership fees for some of our customers on low incomes.

Alan said: “When we arrived at the church with the van, it was full of members waiting to choose their items and it was clear that the Food Fayre provides a vital service for local people.

“I joined the Repairs Team about a month ago and part of the reason I wanted to work at Salix Homes is because of their reputation for being community focused. Meeting Barry and the other volunteers was very inspiring and I’m looking forward to seeing what other initiatives I can get involved in to support our communities.”

Assistant Principal of Co-op Academy Swinton Charlotte Chambers said:  “Supporting the local community is extremely important for Co-op Academy Swinton. We believe the Co-op Ways of Being should be embodied in all that we do, and providing support for those in need is essential to ensure we commit to these values.

“The students were pivotal in preparing the items and they thoroughly enjoyed being included in the opportunity to support their community.

“ Working with Salix Homes has given us the opportunity to make links with people who we can support and continue to support for the foreseeable. We can’t wait to see what this partnership brings to our local community.”

The Family Food Fayre’s Nourish Project Lead Barry Matley added: “We were overwhelmed by the incredible response from Co-Op Academy in Swinton. It was well beyond our wildest imaginations- we didn’t think we could fit all the goods in our little store area.

“I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone.  We often don’t realise the massive impact this is going to make to people.  This is very much appreciated.”

Executive Director of Customers and Communities Sian Grant said:

“Salford is well known for its strength of community and it’s fantastic to see what can be achieved when organisations from across Salford work together.

“We believe that delivering social value is a vital part of our organisation’s activity and in his short time at Salix Homes, Alan has already managed to make a positive impact by facilitating the donation between Co-op Academy Swinton and The Family Food Fayre, which is a truly inspiring example of living our values.

We have a dedicated support section on our website where you can find out more about the support on offer, including more information about The Family Food Fayre.