From April 2023 to March 2024, the charity provided £6m of support to grocery workers and assisted with more than 78,000 incidents of support, up 93% year-on-year, according to its latest Impact Report.
This increase in the use of its services – from financial assistance to relationship counselling – was fuelled by a myriad of challenge, not least the cost-of-living crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the twelve-month period, calls to GroceryAid’s free and confidential hotline was up 22%, while the charity has awarded 57% more financial grants during the reported period. This included almost 6,000 grants awarded to families to help pay for school essentials such as uniforms and equipment and a 44% increase in grants to support those leaving domestic abuse situations.
Kieran Hemsworth, chief executive of GroceryAid, said: “We serve those in the grocery industry who serve us. The people on the frontline and those behind the scenes who work so hard but may be struggling for a number of reasons.
‘The need for our services has increased’
“As a charity, we have been supporting people since 1857 but over the last few years, the need for our services has increased. We recognise how essential grocery workers are, but they say they often feel stressed. We’re here to give them the support they deserve and in 2023/24 we supported more colleagues than ever before through innovative programmes and strategic partnerships.”
Grocery colleagues accessed GroceryAid’s online wellbeing platform more than 1,500 times last year and there was a 25% year-on-year increase in family and relationship counselling delivered in partnership with Relate, the UK’s largest provider of individual and couples therapy. Other services growing in need include legal advice (up 48%), and gambling support (up 108%).
“Building on our 23/24 impact, we continue to be here for grocery workers when and how they need us – whether that’s financial, emotional or practical support,” Hemsworth added.
Reach more people
“There are about 2.6m workers in grocery, so we still have a long way to go to reach more people who are struggling. To do this we need businesses to spread the word about GroceryAid and continue to support us so that we can match the increase in demand.”
Last year, the charity organised 13 fundraising events attended by more than 15,700 grocery colleagues. It also supported more than 500 organisations in the grocery industry.
Grocery Aid’s free and confidential helpline is available 24/7 to all grocery colleagues and their spouse/partner and dependents over 18. For immediate emotional support, call 08088 021 122 or visit the GroceryAid website for more information.
Meanwhile, McCain Foods has donated £35,000 to Ronald McDonald House Charities UK as it the latter celebrates its 35th birthday.
