Extra food provided for families in need
Following support from big-hearted staff
Food items for families in need have poured in, thanks to the staff at Water Plus - the UK’s largest business water retailer.
More than 50 crates holding 513kg of food items – nearly the weight of an adult Sumatran rhino - were collected in the latest volunteering action which saw Water Plus staff join a foodbank drive, at an ASDA supermarket.
And a food donation drop-off at the new Water Plus main office, in Stoke-on-Trent, has also added to the items for those in need, including pasta and tins of vegetables to provide 3-day food packs for people. Each food parcel includes 3 nutritionally balanced meals for each day.
Corrine Boden MBE, Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank Director of Operations, said: “The food donations and emergency parcels are literally a lifeline to those in most need in our communities, so it’s great to see Water Plus once again support the foodbank and bring meaningful impacts for communities.
“Nearly 40% of the people fed through our emergency food provision are children, which many may not realise, so thank you to Water Plus and their thoughtful and enthusiastic staff - who clearly care about local communities and making a positive difference. We couldn’t help children and adults in need and facing hardship without the support from businesses, brilliant volunteers and the generosity of people across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.”
Annual figures released by the Trussell Trust, in May 2025, showed more than 100,000 emergency food parcels were handed out in Staffordshire and Cheshire, with 17,059 of those for people in Stoke-on-Trent, including 6,543 parcels for children.
Overall, the number of emergency food parcels distributed through Trussell Trust foodbanks, in 2024-2025, is 51% up on the April 2019 to 31st March 2020 year, with a 44% increase in the West Midlands.
Water Plus, which moved into its new HQ in 2025 in Stoke-on-Trent, supports charities throughout each year, with employees getting involved in fundraising and is part of a Careers Hub working with three schools.
Staff also get the chance to spend a working day volunteering each year, with some of the Water Plus team helping to deliver a flagship Cup Final event for more than 200 young footballers, from across Staffordshire in 2025.
Alongside the foodbank collections, the company also delivered an event this year that brought businesses together to help fund 300 more hours of support for young people facing cancer in England and Scotland. It means Youth Support Co-ordinator hours will be funded, in its charity partnership with the Teenage Cancer Trust, to help people facing cancer in Stoke-on-Trent and in other parts of Staffordshire and the Midlands.
The community actions also come at a time when Water Plus is also looking for people to join its customer teams, after it won a UK Customer Satisfaction Award in March 2025 and made a multi-million pound investment in its new headquarters site at Trentham Lakes.
“Supporting our local community and removing barriers in people’s lives, to help people thrive, are really important to our great people who work for us as well as our business too.
“We’re very pleased people in our local community will be supported with essential food items in their time of greatest need, particularly with the challenges people – and wider society – are continuing to see.
“Our people are passionate about providing great customer service and helping communities in England and Scotland to deliver a big and lasting difference - and there’s more ahead on what we’ll be doing this year at Water Plus.”
Jason Scagell, Chief Executive of business water retailer Water Plus
Additional information
· Water Plus provides a comprehensive range of services including billing, account management, meter reading, leak detection, water-saving technology installation and expert advice to help businesses and public sector organisations to reduce their water and energy usage.
It’s recent work has seen Water Plus customer communication and awareness-raising engage more than 3,600 sites, including businesses in Staffordshire and other areas, which are now saving water.
The foodbank donation drive was at ASDA Wolstanton, in Staffordshire, in 2025.
Water Plus has also supported a food donation drive in 2023, helping 100 adults and children receive emergency food through Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank.
· Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank provides three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to them in crisis. They work with approximately 400 local professional organisations, who can refer people to the charity. Citizens Advice, children’s centres and health visitors are just some of those who can refer people to the foodbank and issue people with a foodbank voucher.
Curious Fact
Sumatran rhinos can weigh 600kg.
