Omega West contractors make huge donation to St. Helens Foodbank

With around 100 employees working on the construction of sites two and three at Omega West in Bold, foodbank collection points have been set up on the premises to support the community in which they work.

In a bid to support families in St Helens during the cost of living crisis, workers at construction firms McLaren, D Morgan and Kiernan collected a “phenomenal” 25kg of food in just over a week.

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25kg of food was donated by contractors in just over a week (Image: McLaren Construction)

On Monday 6th February this donation was collected by Hope Center Volunteer Coordinator Mark D’Sa who will give it to families in need through St Helens Foodbank which is located in the Hope Center hub on Atherton Street will distribute.

Sarah Caine, community and supply chain coordinator at McLaren Construction, organized the foodbank project at Omega and got employees from the various companies to get involved.

Sarah said: “I know people have been struggling with the cost of living crisis lately and food banks are particularly struggling with more demand but less donations.

“So I just wanted to make sure the company was doing something to help the people where we work and to do our bit for the community.

“I kept urging people to donate. Once they realized what the donations were for and where they were going, everyone really took part and the reception was phenomenal.”

Volunteers distribute groceries at St. Helens Foodbank (Image: St Helens Star)

Hope Center volunteers and staff support a range of people in need in St. Helens by providing assistance with things like homelessness, food poverty, unemployment and mental health.

With that in mind, Sarah felt they were the perfect charity to distribute the donated food, confirming that the food bank’s collection will be an “ongoing and long-term” project while contractors work on Omega West.

The Foodbank donation is planned as a monthly project at Omega West (Image: McLaren Construction)

The Omega office comprises the development of four units on greenbelt lots in Bold, with Planning Permission granted to Home Bargains to convert one of the units into a distribution centre.

This is expected to create more than 1,000 full-time jobs at full capacity while deliveries of blocks two, three and four are also underway.

Home Bargains will take unit one on the Omega West compound (Image: St Helens Council Planning Portal)