News from Mercedes-Benz Vans - Milton Keynes charity banks on support from Mercedes-Benz Vans

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Date: 6 March 2017
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Teaming up: Food Bank Partnerships Manager Caitlin Hands helps Project Manager John Marshall load their new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter


Milton Keynes charity banks on support from Mercedes-Benz Vans

Mercedes-Benz Vans made a tasty delivery to the Milton Keynes Food Bank in the shape of a nearly-new Sprinter, which the charity is now using to carry out its vital work.

The Food Bank collects and sorts food items donated by local companies and the public, then distributes them to local people in need of assistance throughout Milton Keynes and surrounding areas.

The Buckinghamshire town is also home to Mercedes-Benz Vans' headquarters and the two organisations have been working together for more than six years. The new Sprinter has replaced a vehicle loaned to the charity by the manufacturer in 2010, since when staff from Mercedes-Benz Vans have held collections at their offices and volunteered to work at the Food Bank's premises.

The 66-registered Sprinter 316 CDI was prepared and painted at the Mercedes-Benz Used Commercial Vehicle Centre at Wentworth Park near Barnsley, where the Food Bank's logo was also applied. The ply-lined cargo area is divided into two compartments, which are made-to-measure for the plastic totes (crates) it uses to transport food items.

The vehicle is also covered by a Mercedes-Benz Service Care plan, under which it will be maintained at the Milton Keynes branch of Dealer Intercounty Truck & Van.

Steve Bridge, Mercedes-Benz Vans Managing Director, said: "We are delighted to be support a local charity as important as The Food Bank, not only by supplying a safe, reliable and stylish Sprinter but also by holding our own food collections and helping its hard-working volunteers."

The van was handed over to The Food Bank Project Manager John Marshall at its headquarters in Stacey Bushes, Milton Keynes, by Joanne Ahmet of the Mercedes-Benz Vans team.

John Marshall said: "Our previous Sprinter has been a fantastic workhorse, which we've used to collect donated food from schools, churches, workplaces and other organisations all over the town, as well as from supermarkets where our volunteers collect items from shoppers.

"The van has also been pressed into service to make deliveries to distribution points, and in exceptional cases direct to people in need, both in Milton Keynes and nearby villages. We're delighted with its replacement, which we'll be working every bit as hard over the coming years to support our local communities."
mkfoodbank.org.uk

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Helping hands: From left, Milton Keynes Food Bank Chair of Trustees Fola Komolafe, Food Bank Trustee Gill Bowker, and Joanna Ahmet, Used Van District Manager,
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Working together: From left, Milton Keynes Food Bank Partnerships Manager Caitlin Hands, Joanna Ahmet of Mercedes-Benz Vans, Food Bank Chair of Trustees Fola Komolafe, Food Bank Trustee Gill Bowker and Food Bank Project Manager John Marshall

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