I have created many seasonal confectionery products during my career

This time of the year sales teams go to the supermarkets fixtures and look at our own products and our competitors on the shelves, we make plans ready for the start of the buying window again in January, all part of our jobs.

This year there were local Foodbank volunteers at the tills trying to gain support for Christmas Hampers with food donations when I was buying a competitors product merely as a reference sample.

It brought home to me this year, that whilst we are locked into discussions with the retailers and managing deliveries to seasonal forecasts that the true reality is that some people will struggle to have a standard meal let alone a festive one.

I want to make a difference this year!

Hampers of Hope aims to relieve poverty across North East Cheshire. Our food bank delivers food hampers to people in our local communities nearly every day. This year we are aiming to provide 400 Christmas food hampers to those in most need in our local communities.