Hamper treats delivered to tenants by staff at Bedford housing association

Sixty families received Christmas hampers filled with food essentials after Bedford-based Housing Association bpha joined forces with Tesco in Riverfield Drive to deliver festive goodies to tenants finding themselves in need of a bit of extra help.

A team of 34 bpha staff volunteers, including chief executive Kevin Bolt, took to their cars and delivered the hampers in Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk after tenants were nominated by colleagues.

Feedback from those receiving hampers was extremely positive. One tenant said: “It is fantastic that bpha do this and we are so grateful. With all that has happened recently to have some good news was quite moving – we can’t thank you enough.”

This year’s hampers were packed with 37 everyday food items including soup, tea, coffee, tinned tuna and rice alongside some extra Christmas treats like selection boxes and chocolates donated by Tesco.

Jim Playle, community development officer at bpha, said: “It’s nice to be able to make a difference at this time of year and help ensure that these families have well stocked cupboards when times are tight.

“This is the fourth year that we have worked with Tesco to provide hampers to our tenants and we are delighted to be supporting 60 families this Christmas. We would also like to thank Tesco, Riverfield Drive for their help and support again this year.”

bpha owns or manages over 18,000 homes and employs around 400 staff.