IVECO UK Donates Daily Van to Food Redistribution Charity, Fareshare, Through CNH Industrial Solidarity Fund
Earlier this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold of Europe and most of the rest of the world, CNH Industrial and its Brands joined many others in donating medical equipment, such as ventilators, PPE, electrical generators and ambulances to local healthcare organizations.
In addition, the company also donated $2 million to the CNH Industrial Foundation and to other community projects around the globe. The CNH Industrial Foundation was set up to support the local areas in which the business operates, providing support in three main areas; Education, Health Service and Food Security.
FareShare is just one of the community projects to have applied to the CNH Industrial Solidarity Fund for aid and has since taken delivery of a refrigerated IVECO Daily panel van, donated via IVECO UK. The new van will be put straight to work helping support the area most local to its UK operations base in Basildon, Essex, in the South East of England. The Ipswich regional distribution center services 160 local charities, with 73 of those within Essex county lines. Of those, seven reside in Basildon supporting a community center, pre-school children, a community center for the elderly, another that supports those with life-limiting conditions and disabilities and a further three assisting families with low or no incomes.
Co-founded with Sainsbury’s in 1994, FareShare is the longest running food redistribution charity in the UK, born to help ensure that while there are people going hungry, no good food should be wasted. Now in its 26th year, FareShare is the biggest operation of its kind in the UK and, since launching, has provided the equivalent of nearly 237 million meals.
Currently, the organization utilizes a digital platform to link over 500 companies across the supply chain, from farmers and haulers to the hospitality sector and both large and small supermarkets with unsold foodstuffs to supported organizations via their 22-strong UK network of regional distribution centers. Almost 11,000 charities and community groups rely on the work that FareShare does, including homeless hostels, community centers, children’s breakfast and elderly lunch clubs, with over 924,300 people accessing supplies every week. FareShare also encourages those that it helps into paid work within the organization, providing long-term benefits to those less fortunate.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, FareShare has continued to support frontline organizations supporting those most in need of assistance. Post-national lockdown it has seen a 90% increase in food delivered and tripled demand from new charities.
The Daily 3.5t van is ideal to maximize its availability to any team member with a full car driving license as anything heavier would require a driver to hold at least a Category C1 license. The refrigerated load compartment allows for the safe transportation of chilled foods and will help maintain its freshness.
“The work FareShare do is inordinately important, so we are very proud to have been able to show solidarity in action within our home-county of Essex and the wider East Anglia area,” commented IVECO UK Brand Marketing & Communications Manager, Lisa Fuller. “In such unpredictable times, we hope that this van will provide many years of hard-working service to make sure that the vulnerable and those in less fortunate circumstances within our community can rely on this noble cause”.
The vehicle, donated as part of IVECO’s OK Trucks scheme will be supplied with a comprehensive OK Trucks XTRA XTENDED LIFE extended warranty package, including membership to IVECO’s 24/7, Europe-wide Assistance Non-stop (ANS) road-side assistance scheme. This will leave the charity able to focus completely on its benevolent efforts, knowing that its new vehicle will be in kept in top working order with minimal interruptions.
“This year has been incredibly tough for so many and FareShare has seen the need for our food skyrocket. The number of charities and community groups applying to receive food through FareShare has more than doubled and most of the organizations we work with expect demand to remain the same as at peak crisis levels, or even increase through the winter,” said Mike Barrett, Development Manager at FareShare East Anglia.
“We are so thankful to IVECO UK for this incredibly generous donation, which will help FareShare food get out to thousands of beneficiaries, charities and community groups in need at this critical time.”
