As manager for Community Catering at COPE Galway, Geraldine Ryan oversees their partnership with Tesco and Food Cloud.
“I work directly for the Seniors Support Services arm of COPE Galway,” explains Geraldine. “We provide a Meals on Wheels service to elderly people in Galway. Some of the food donations are used to help us reduce our food bills and keep the service affordable.”
COPE Galway has a very proactive Food Rescue initiative. “Our food rescue volunteers are wholly committed to reducing food waste,” Geraldine tells us. “They collect food from Tesco every day and bring it back to the centre, where they carefully and mindfully sort and assign it to wherever it will best be used.” The overriding objective is to ensure that no good food ever goes to waste.
Food donations are shared with two other service departments in COPE Galway; Homeless Services and Domestic Abuse Services. “We share ingredients with our Residential unit for use in their kitchens and things like readymade pizzas are made available to people in our Resettlement unit, who are being transitioned into their own homes.”
As one of the first ever causes to sign up with Tesco through Food Cloud 10 years ago, COPE Galway has a special place in the hearts of colleagues at our Galway store. The partnership has been going strong ever since.
“I would say that Tesco has been consistently supportive since day one,” says Geraldine. “In addition to Food Cloud, we have benefited enormously from Tesco, including the all-important delivery van you donated to us some years ago,” she adds.
Giving food to people obviously helps to reduce or prevent hunger but Geraldine points out that there are other benefits. “We try to keep the person central to everything we do,” she says. “We find that giving food encourages engagement and it makes people feel supported in their well-being. Instead of spending their small available budget on food, for example, they may get to use some instead to pay for a swim. When people eat better, they feel better, and they start to see improvements in other areas of their lives.”
Another upside to the Food Rescue initiative is that COPE Galway has been able to employ, under the Community Employment Scheme, a co-ordinator who liaises with the Food Rescue volunteers. “It’s providing the opportunity for community employment,” Geraldine says. “The benefits have been far-reaching and have made such an important contribution.”
Tesco are extremely proud of the support they been able to add to the enormous contribution made by COPE Galway and the many volunteers who give their time to make it all happen.
