8:45 am, December 9, 2022
Staff at Mercedes-Benz Van Centre in Exeter have teamed up with a local food charity to help provide emergency supplies to those in need.
Employees at the Snows-run site have partnered with Exeter Food Action, which redistributes surplus food from shops to organisations that support people.
As part of the new agreement, the dealership’s general manager Jonathan Philpott and site support Robert Ward have both been volunteering with the charity.
The pair have given up time to drive vans free of charge, mostly delivering long-life milk to locations throughout the south west.
A spokesperson for the business said: ‘We are proud be part of the community here in Exeter and as such, we are always keen to help local charities and businesses in our area.
‘We recently became aware of the important work Exeter Food Action carries out and we wanted to assist.
‘Two colleagues at our business, Jonathan Philpott, general manager, and Robert Ward, site support, have been helping facilitate this partnership, driving vans at no cost.
‘In particular, they have been helping to deliver long-life milk from Crediton Dairy to locations in Exeter, East Devon and Torbay.
‘We plan to continue assisting with deliveries for Exeter Food Action – we are happy to support this incredible charity in whichever way we can.’
(Robert Ward helping out at Exeter Food Action)
The Food Action team work with wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers to make good use of items that would otherwise be thrown away.
All contributions received by Exeter Food Action are distributed via partner organisations that support vulnerable people – including those affected by hunger, homelessness, family breakdown, low incomes, benefit uncertainty and abuse.
Demand for its services has never been higher and the Mercedes-Benz Van Centre team are pleased to be able to play a part in keeping the operation running.
A spokesman for Exeter Food Action said: ‘We are very grateful for the support we receive from the team at Mercedes-Benz Van Centre Exeter.
‘We rely on our volunteer partners to help keep our operations running, as we endeavour to satisfy the ever-increasing number of requests we receive for help and support. We hope this partnership will continue into 2023 and beyond.’
