Healthy future for Leek food co-op thanks to funding boost

Users of the Leek food co-operative can look forward to a healthy new year after the project was awarded funding of £20,000 to continue providing fresh fruit and vegetables to the local community.

The funding, provided by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council through the Moorlands Together Partnership, means the team can carry out the final phase of the development of the project which started as a pilot in 2015.

Led by Tasha Bourne, the food co-operative team works actively in the local area to improve access to, and consumption of, fresh fruit and vegetables by local people.

Councillor Mike Bowen, cabinet member for communities at the Council, joined volunteers at their base, Haregate Community Centre, to see for himself the benefits it offers.

He said: "This is a great project for a variety of reasons - not only does it provide local people with fresh fruit and vegetables to help them maintain a healthy, balanced diet but it's also giving the volunteers the chance to take part in a positive activity in their local neighbourhood.

"It's great that we have been able to support the team at Haregate Community Centre with funding to continue to provide this valuable service and, in due course, to share their experiences with other communities across the Moorlands who might be interested is establishing similar schemes."