Shoppers help raise £4.5m for good causes

LINCOLNSHIRE Co-op is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its Community Champions scheme, which has seen £4,522,000 donated to 2,408 local groups. The scheme is designed to support local groups and good causes, ranging from sports clubs and theatre groups to growing projects and food banks, and, most recently, local hospices.

A donation is made each time a member shops with their dividend card and colleagues also host fundraising events, such as bingo nights or sponsored walks, and there are collection tins in Lincolnshire Coop outlets for customers to drop their change in.

Among the groups supported through Community Champions is Lincolnshire Emergency Medical Response (LEMR), a team of volunteers responding to 999 calls across the county (pictured above).

It received £4896.48 in 2020, which they used to ensure that each responder was provided with a cold weather jacket, keeping them warm when they are caring for patients in the cold.

Matt Bailey, Operations Manager at LEMR, said: “We never know what job we’re going to next; it could be a child, it could be an adult, it’s always someone’s family member or loved one.

“Our whole team dedicates so much time to not only responding, but also fundraising and training to ensure that we have all the equipment and skills to give the best possible care to every single patient.

“Receiving a donation from the Community Champions scheme was even more special because it came directly from the local community, who are the people that we could potentially be responding to.”

Community Manager at Lincolnshire Coop, Sam Turner, said: “Thank you to all of our members, colleagues and customers for

Cheese Choice

all of your support and contributions over the last 10 years, we’re continuously amazed by your dedication and generosity.”

“We’re currently accepting applications for future Community Champions, so if you’re part of a local group or good cause, please get in touch!” www.lincolnshire.coop/community/ community-champions

Blue Sky Halloumi

BLUE Sky Cheese was created by Jeremy and Becky in 2017. Building everything from scratch using previous experience – Jeremy having worked at Lincolnshire Poacher for a number of years before making a small amount of cheese and Becky’s family of dairy farmers and her grandfather, a sheep farmer.

Blue Sky use milk from their own flock of sheep – Zwartbles, which originate from the Friesland region of the Netherlands, to ensure the milk is of the highest quality for the cheese. Every part of the cheese-making process is done on the farm.

It is unusual to find 100% ewes milk Halloumi. Ewes milk has a high butter fat content which gives a full flavour and creamier cheese. This halloumi has a unique flavour, really buttery yet delicate, the best halloumi we’ve ever tried and even better that it's made locally. It's delicious when grilled and served with baked beetroot and thyme.

Key Facts

Age 4 weeks

Country of Origin

England

Milk Type Ewes Pasteurisation

Unpasteurised

Region Lincoln

Strength Mild/Medium

Style of Cheese Crumbly

Vegetarian Yes

For a fantastic range of cheeses from around the world contact Lucie Nock, The Cheese Society, 1 St Martin’s Lane, Lincoln, LN2 1HY. T: 01522 511003, www.thecheesesociety.co.uk