GroceryAid invested more than £6.5m providing financial, emotional and practical support in the past year, with incidents of support rising by 76% compared to the previous year, its latest report shows.
23% more financial grants were also awarded in past twelve months, and 136% more beneficiaries accessed cost-of-living-based advice
The housing crisis in particular has impacted grocery workers, with colleagues spending higher proportions of their income on rents and mortgages. GroceryAid’s grants enabled many struggling with arrears to remain in their homes, while the Charity’s partnership with Shelter Plus provided 165 hours of specialist advice for complex housing issues.
Read more: GroceryAid launches D&I performance model for industry partners
“The Impact Report clearly demonstrates the rising demand across all our services. We are proud of the positive impact we have been able to achieve while the industry continues to experience a range of challenges,” comments Kieran Hemsworth, GroceryAid’s chief executive.
“In the last 12 months, we have redefined our 2030 vision, purpose and values. We are looking to help grocery workers by providing relief in tough times and have focused on helping more colleagues through enhanced marketing programmes, adapted welfare offerings, and continued fundraising growth.”
“However, awareness remains a key challenge for us. While it is growing, currently only 23 per cent of grocery workers have awareness of the Charity and its services. This needs to change and will be a key focus for us. At the same time, we must also ensure that we understand the changing welfare needs of those working in the industry and continue to adapt our offer to meet these needs.“
