Through a discussion that started in our MediaCityUK Sustainability & Social Value Network we came up with the idea to create a large food donation box for Salford Foodbank as part of our Box on the Docks placemaking initiative.

After discussions with Salford Foodbank Carbon Creative set about designing the box that was then built by the MediaCityUK contractors. The box was opened to the public in early December 2020 and from here the support grew with many community donation points popping up all over Salford including Moorside High School. The MediaCityUK team used their communications channels to promote the box and ask for donations that the Foodbank were particularly low on.

The Foodbank set a target of collecting the weight of 3 camels worth of food as part of a Christmas drive. This target was well and truly achieved (a total of 4.38 camels!) with the following number as at mid January 2021:

• 2190 kgs food collected which equates to 137 food parcels equalling 2740 meals for Salford Foodbank users.

To drive further support and reach for the campaign Carbon Creative have designed a supporting website that maps where all the donations spots are across the City encouraging more communities to get involved.

Iain Wight from Salford Foodbank added: “This year has seen an outpouring of local generosity, with communities coming together, such as Moorside School, MediaCityUK and through people like Keith who want to play their part in helping to support those who may be struggling. We have been blown away by people’s kindness and we can’t thank everyone enough. It means we can support even more families through unprecedented times of hardship.”

To find out more on how you can get involved with the mini food giftbox campaign please contact hello@foodgiftbox.co.uk