Foodbank will still work with Asda

Staff at Caledonia House say they are looking at entering new projects with Asda’s local branch in Fullerton Road.

The supermarket chain – which last week posted its worst ever quarterly sales slump – sparked concern when it announced it would be changing the format for collections on behalf of foodbanks at branches UK-wide and scrapping the current version of its green token scheme, which helped chosen local charities .

It was reported by some media that Asda was axing all of its collection points in a cost-cutting measure, as it feared competition from discount stores such as Lidl and Aldi.

However, the chain said it was happy to keep supporting local foodbanks and wanted foodbank volunteeers to come in to stores and tell customers where their donations would be going. It was also investing £2 million into the charity revamp, which, it added, contradicted the cost-cutting claims.

Jilly Guild, project manager at Glenrothes Foodbank, said it had benefited from “continued and valued support” by Asda.

While the Foodbank had been “saddened” by the changes to the collection policy, it would continue to work closely with the superstore.

“I have met with the Asda Community Champion and, already, we have plans and projects that we will be implementing in our local Glenrothes store in the next few months,” added Jilly.

Sales at established Asda stores dropped 5.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to January 1, compared with a 4.5 per cent fall in the previous quarter and a 4.7 per cent decline before that – the worst sales performance in its 50-year history.