GroceryAid has seen demand for its services ticking up following a recent rebrand to raise awareness of the support available to food and drink employees.
The charity estimates around 1.3 million people are currently in need of its services. Yet awareness remains extremely low, with just 4% of the 2.6 million people working across the industry familiar with GroceryAid.
The charity’s research shows an estimated 80,000 are in need mental health support, 400,000 require help with ‘relationship issues’, and 730,000 with financial matters.
“The problem we have today is that we’re only helping 20,000 people,” Kieran Hemsworth, chief executive of GroceryAid, told Food Manufacture.
“That’s only 100,000 people who are aware of GroceryAid. So if we want to help more people, our biggest strategic issue has to be about how we try and improve that level of awareness. And that’s essentially the reason why we went through the whole rebranding process.”
Its first awareness campaign, launched six months ago, ran throughout the festive period and focused on financial support.
“The cost of living has been tough for a lot of people,” Hemsworth said.
This, in combination with low levels of savings, has caused challenges for many, while also flagging the importance of the work GroceryAid does, Hemsworth added.
There’s a such a huge need for a charity like us to be able to step in when things go wrong.
Kieran Hemsworth, chief executive, GroceryAid
Alongside promoting the support on offer directly to those in the industry, the campaign has also looked to spread awareness across the wider public.
As Hemsworth pointed out: those in need often seek help from friends and family before their employer. The hope is that if someone does speak to a loved one, they’ll be able to point them in GroceryAid’s direction in the future.
Addressing stigma
Raising awareness is only part of the battle though; and the charity has also been focused on combatting the stigma that can prevent people from seeking support in the first place.
“They’re very proud people who work in our industry,” Hemsworth said. “They’re absolute heroes; they work very long hours in very cold conditions, they’re often on their feet for a long period of time. And there was a real stigma in terms of reaching out to a charity.
“What we’re trying to say is that you’ve already put the hours in, you’ve already put the effort in, the work in – this is the help that you’ve already earned. It’s not a charity handout at all.”
And it appears GroceryAid’s approach is working. Since its initial campaign, it has witnessed a 42% increase in website traffic and a 32% increase in financial grant applications.
Its annual Barcode Festival held last month - the first under its new branding - welcomed more than 4,600 attendees from 378 companies spanning grocery, FMCG, and the wider supply chain.
This year, the event raised a record-breaking £1.19 million which will help fund the work GroceryAid does.
Better awareness has introduced new challenges
And that result will be a welcome relief, with Hemsworth predicting the charities costs to rocket upwards.
Over the last six months, the charity’s expenditure into its mental health services have more than doubled – a result of its successful campaigning.
In particular there has been a notable rise in those accessing its “high intensity counselling” sessions. These are a series of sessions (either six or 20) that are paid for by GroceryAid and allocated to those in need of further support.
Hemsworth says that, for now, GroceryAid is able to cater to the demands. In fact, it has recently changed its third party partner to make sure it has enough provision.
But financing this uptick in welfare support is another matter.
“Last year we spent six and a half million on welfare. I think that’s going to be an awful lot more this year,” he shared.
“We need to raise more funds to be able to help more people as that demand increases.”
And the demand will increase as GroceryAid’s awareness mission gains further momentum. But also, as Hemsworth shared, the state of the industry is likely to add further strain to the community.
With countless mergers and acquisitions possibly placing people out of work or introducing new challenges, alongside the unknowns of AI, the charity boss predicts today’s turbulent world will help drive up that demand further.
For Hemsworth, the challenge now will be about ensuring GroceryAid is equipped to keep up with the caseload likely heading its way.
