GroceryAid reaches almost 20k colleagues after awareness campaign

Just nine months after unveiling the most significant brand refresh in its 169-year history, charity GroceryAid has confirmed it is helping more grocery workers than ever before access the financial, emotional and practical support they’ve earned.

The charity’s new 2025/2026 Impact Report shows its investment in raising awareness is beginning to translate into more colleagues reaching out for help.

Financial grant applications have increased by 15% year-on-year during the campaign period, while visits to the welfare section of the charity’s website increased by 12% during its first awareness campaign.

In the last year, GroceryAid supported 19,200 grocery workers and their families through its range of welfare services, including financial grants (8,162 colleagues), its helpline (4,210 colleagues) as well as funding specialist support and helping people access addition help via its website.

The increase in demand comes as households across the UK continue to feel the effects of wider economic and societal challenges, GroceryAid said, including the ongoing cost of living crisis, housing costs and mental wellbeing.

Its latest research highlights the impact these challenges are having on grocery colleagues, with more than half (53%) of grocery workers experiencing unexpected, tough times during the past 18 months. The reports provide it with a clearer picture of the challenges grocery colleagues are facing, helping the charity ensure its services continue to meet the needs of its colleagues.

While awareness of the charity is increasing, the report shows there is still more to be done to ensure colleagues feel comfortable asking for support, with nearly one in three (31%) people who need help saying the fear of being judged stops them from reaching out.

The latest report lso shows financial pressures remain one of the main reasons colleagues seek support, which is why financial grants remain at the heart of GroceryAid’s offering. Over the past year, the charity awarded 8,395 grants to 8,162 grocery workers, a 3% increase on the previous year.

GroceryAid’s grants support colleagues across a range of circumstances. financial relief grants provide help when the unexpected happens, while cost of living grants can help with household bills and rent. School essentials grants support families with the cost of the new school year, and carers gateway grants provides assistance to colleagues with caring responsibilities.

The charity continues to provide a wide range of emotional services to help colleagues through some of life’s toughest moments. In the past year, more than 4,200 grocery colleagues accessed support through the GroceryAid Helpline, resulting in over 11,000 support sessions covering anxiety, complex mental health issues, stress, bereavement and relationship challenges.

Last year, the charity introduced a new high intensity counselling service, providing specialist cognitive behavioural therapy for people experiencing moderate mental health conditions. The service contributed to an 84% increase in structured counselling sessions.

Relationship support also continued through GroceryAid’s partnership with counsellors Relate, with 243 grocery workers and their families receiving 1,449 sessions during the year.

Kieran Hemsworth, CEO of GroceryAid, said: “The results in this year’s Impact Report show our strategy is delivering real outcomes. By investing in raising awareness of GroceryAid and the support we provide, more grocery colleagues are finding us and accessing help when they need it most. Seeing more people come forward is exactly what we set out to achieve.

“The report also reminds us that many colleagues continue to face challenges created by wider economic and societal pressures, while too many still feel unable to ask for help. That’s why raising awareness and tackling the stigma around seeking support remain such important priorities.

“As more colleagues access our services, continued fundraising will be essential to ensure we can provide the help grocery workers have earned whenever they need it. We’re incredibly grateful to our colleagues, trustees, volunteers, partners and supporters whose commitment makes that possible.”

To download GroceryAid’s full 2025/2026 impact report, please click here.