Richard Luscombe Argyle Community Trust and Ginsters are delighted to announce that over 100,000 savoury pastry products have been distributed to children across Plymouth, Devon, and Cornwall through our landmark community initiative, Project 35.
The scheme has supported local families since 2022 through a comprehensive campaign of fundraising, awareness raising, social outreach, food donations, education, and charity support.
The ‘35’ in the project’s title symbolises the percentage of children in Plymouth reported to be living in poverty at the time the scheme was launched, according to 2019 pre-pandemic data.
We are thrilled to have reached this landmark goal, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone, from ACT and Ginsters staff to Pledge 35 volunteers, who have played their part in helping us reach this target.
These Ginsters products have been delivered to 28 locations across Plymouth, Devon, and Cornwall, travelling a total of 10,000 miles to provide lunches to our community events, including Premier League Kicks, Holiday Activities and Food (HAF), Time 2 Move, and Fit & Fed.
The 100,000th meal was delivered on Wednesday, 9 April, by volunteer Neil Robertshaw, Food for Now’s Assistant Operations Manager. Neil has driven the vans for many of the Project 35 deliveries and was on hand with Debbie Moss, Brand Consumer Care and Community Co-Ordinator at Ginsters, to deliver the products to one of our sessions at Ivybridge Community College.
Alice Young, Argyle Community Trust’s Community Programmes Manager, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have worked in partnership with Ginsters to deliver 100,000 lunches to children experiencing food poverty, through Project 35.
“Reaching this milestone is a testament to the power of collective action and the incredible impact of Project 35. I want to say a genuine thank you to everyone who has supported the project so far.
“We’re looking forward to entering a new season with new challenges and overcoming this with our next Project 35 aims.”
Ginsters’ partnership in this project highlights the brand’s continued commitment to supporting the local community.
Speaking on this fantastic milestone, Sarah Babb, Marketing Director, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be the principal partner of Project 35 and to have reached a significant milestone in such an important initiative in the local area.
“This achievement reflects the power of collaboration and a shared commitment to tackling food insecurity in our local communities. At Ginsters, supporting meaningful initiatives like this sits at the heart of our values, and we’re proud to stand alongside Plymouth Argyle, Argyle Community Trust, and the community to make a real difference.
“Reaching this milestone is just the beginning. Project 35 is a long-term commitment to helping tackle these challenges, and we’re dedicated to continuing our journey to help those across the region.”
Argyle’s Chief Executive, Andrew Parkinson, said: “The community is at the heart of everything we do here at Argyle, and award-winning initiatives like Project 35 are a clear indication of our commitment to the people of Plymouth and Devon and Cornwall.
“It is incredible to reach the milestone of providing 100,000 products to those in need, and that shows that initiatives like Project 35 are still shockingly required by our community.
“Project 35 is a collaboration between the club, Argyle Community Trust, and Ginsters, and I want to thank all those involved for their incredible hard work and hope the scheme can continue to provide a vital service for the community moving forward.”
Alongside winning the Best Football Community Scheme award at the 2023 Football Business Awards, hitting the 100k distribution milestone is another major success for the Project 35, in partnership with Ginsters, programme.
For further information or to learn more about how you can get involved with Project 35, you can email Trevor Higgins on Trevor.Higgins@pafc.co.uk.
