Tetley has invested £1.2m working with partner organisations to help communities at home and abroad, enhancing the health and livelihoods of neighbourhoods near and far.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and an important producer of tea. Our work there has included the Malawi 2020 project to support and develop the tea industry so farmers can earn a decent income and workers receive a better wage.
We are working with the ETP to set up Village Savings Loans Associations across two suppliers’ estates to function as a community bank for savings and loans, and we have committed to distributing 4,500 solar lights to estate families with no access to electricity.
Tetley is supporting Unicef UK to implement an early childhood development programme in and around targeted tea estates in the southern growing regions in Malawi. Two Early Childhood Development Centres will provide nutritious food, early years education and opportunities for stimulating play for children 0-5 years old.
Tata Consumer Products has also been supporting communities at a local level in the UK. We received a Gold award from GroceryAid, the charity that provides assistance to grocery industry workers in times of need, in recognition of our support. This included a £150,000 donation to help make up a shortfall caused by the cancellation of the charity’s fundraising events as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
We are also helping to tackle hunger in local communities and minimise food waste by supporting FareShare, an initiative that redistributes surplus food to charities who then turn it into meals. Tata has provided 16.6 tonnes of surplus products, enough to contribute towards 39,451 meals served to people in need at community centres in deprived areas, day centres for vulnerable adults and the elderly, hostels for the homeless, breakfast and after-school clubs, and to supply food banks for low-income families.