Local foodbanks flying high on London Stansted donations
- Latest delivery to Uttlesford Foodbank helps airport top 15 tonnes of donations since 2017
- It has teamed up with local foodbanks to donate items surrendered by passengers at airport security
- Top donations include Marmite, peanut butter and jam
Unopened jars of Marmite, peanut butter and Harrods Jam are just some of the 15 tonnes of items donated by London Stansted to local foodbanks over the last two years.
A team of airport volunteers dropped off the latest delivery of food and toiletries to the Uttlesford Foodbank in Saffron Walden on Friday (Sept 19) for distribution to families in the area.
The airport has teamed up with local foodbanks to donate items surrendered by passengers at airport security. They are sorted and transported by a team of airport volunteers to various locations across Essex, East Herts and Uttlesford.
While we would urge our 28 million passengers who travel through Stansted every year to always prepare correctly for passing through security before they leave home and avoid having to surrender items they are mistakenly carrying in their hand luggage, this partnership with the local foodbanks ensures many items go to those who are most in need within the community.
From preserves and spreads to tinned fish and cans of deodorant, a variety of potential donations are regularly left behind and our team of volunteers sort and transport to the foodbanks. As well as supporting local families, the scheme helps our staff stay connected with the communities around the airport.
We’re always very grateful to Stansted Airport when it comes to replenishing our Marmite supplies! In all seriousness it’s a brilliant initiative which ensures goods which might otherwise end up in landfill are redistributed to those in need and we’re very happy, along with other local Foodbanks, to be part of this scheme.
Since the launch of the scheme in 2017, the 15 tonnes of donations have helped support more than 3,000 local families. The initiative received major recognition by winning gold at the Green Apple Environmental Best Practice Awards in 2018.