A Dorset contractor is aiming to donate 1,000 items of food to the local food bank in time for Christmas.
 
 
Mike Hewitson, owner of Abbey Pharmacy in Sherborne, Dorset, has donated an item of food on behalf of every customer spending £10 or more on retail items since December 13.
 
 
The response from customers had been “fantastic” and the pharmacy managed to make 400 donations within the first four days, Mr Hewitson told C+D.
 
 
Mr Hewitson said he was inspired to start the initiative by one of his staff members, who had connections with the local food bank. He described the campaign as a “long-term investment” in the community.
 
“We’re an independent pharmacy and we’ve been here for 224 years, so are deeply ingrained in the community and we wanted to give a little back,” he told C+D. “At face value, Sherborne is quite a prosperous town, but to be honest that just kind of masks quite a lot of the people who are struggling.”
 
The local Waitrose branch has agreed to top up the food donated by Abbey Pharmacy as part of its regular contributions to the area’s food banks.
 
Linda Catchpole, co-ordinator of Sherborne food bank, praised the campaign. “We’re always happy for the general public and business people to be involved with the work of the food bank because it’s so important to help these people who, quite frankly, have nothing,” she told C+D.
 
The food bank delivers an average of 120 food parcels a month to locals, with Christmas being one of its busiest times of the year.
 
Mr Hewitson said he would consider running the campaign on a longer term basis by linking it to the pharmacy’s loyalty card scheme and promoting it on occasions such as Easter and Christmas.
 
The scheme could easily work in other pharmacies, even in areas that appeared wealthy, he added. “Just because a place looks well off doesn’t mean it is,” he said. “There’s definitely something people could learn here.”
 

 

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