- Asda and Asda Foundation invests £2.4m into local communities to spread festive cheer
- Over 1 million £1 café meals served to children and OAPs averaging 50,000 meals a week
Asda, and its charity, The Asda Foundation is spreading festive cheer to good causes this Christmas by investing over £2.4 million to support communities who are impacted by the rising cost of the living.
The investment from the Asda Foundation is supporting over 2000 grassroots groups continue their work in communities despite rising running costs.
Asda has also visited five community groups across the UK to give them an extra special surprise to help with events or makeovers that couldn’t happen due lack of funding, from Winter Wonderland parties to transforming community rooms.
One of the groups surprised was WASPS Community Group in Darlaston, Birmingham where 76-year-old volunteer Margaret, helps to run regular sessions that provide companionship and activities for the local elderly community. The centre didn’t have any working cooking facilities and Margaret had to hand-wash all the crockery. Asda surprised the group by upgrading their kitchen with a new cooker, new dishwasher, new work surfaces, redecorating their community room and new carpets. Margaret was preparing to put on a cold buffet for the groups Christmas party, but Asda stepped in and provided a chef to prepare and cook a hot three course Christmas lunch.
In addition to the direct investment into communities, Asda has also invested in ‘in store’ initiatives to help customers and communities combat the rising cost of living. Its Kids Eat for £1 and OAP Winter Warmer Café £1 meal deal have hit a staggering 1 million meals served since June. The £1 café deals are averaging around 50,000 meals a week as 89% of people say the rise in the cost of living is the biggest concern for them*.
Community groups who may otherwise struggle to meet due to rising energy costs are also being invited to Asda cafes. Warm spaces have been made available on weekdays across November and December from 2pm to 6pm and all community group members who visit receive a free tea or coffee.
Mohsin Issa, Asda’s co-owner, said: “We have launched these initiatives to support our customers and communities this winter as we know it’s going to be incredibly hard for many people due to rising living costs. We have already served more than a million meals through our Kids Eat for £1 and Winter Warmers deals, and we hope that many more families and over 60s will visit in December to take advantage of these offers.
“On top of this, we’ve invested £2.4 million through Asda and the Cost-of-Living grant programme led by Asda’s charity, The Asda Foundation who are support grassroots organisations providing a lifeline in their communities during these tough times.”
Comments are closed.