KOTRA Partners with UK Food Bank to Support Low-Income Vulnerable Groups

London K-Goods Popup Store Proceeds Donated to Local Community

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Yeju] KOTRA announced on the 18th that from the 10th to the 13th of last month, the London Trade Center conducted a social contribution activity by donating part of the sales proceeds from the 'K-Goods Pop-up Store,' which was promoted as part of the 'Export Plus' project.

This donation event was carried out in collaboration with participating companies of the 'K-Goods Pop-up Store,' which was held on the largest scale ever, as part of ESG management activities. The pop-up store project concluded with sales of approximately 100,000 pounds over the four-day operation period.

The donation fund is composed to support the future development of the local community and Korean expatriates in the UK, and will be used respectively for Hackney Food Bank, a UK free meal support organization, the London Korean School, and the Korean Association.

Recently, due to supply chain instability caused by COVID-19 and the impact of the Ukraine war, prices in the UK have surged sharply, leading to a significant increase in the number of people visiting free meal centers due to insufficient living expenses. According to The Trussel Trust, the largest free meal foundation in the UK, more than 1.3 million people have visited free meal centers in the UK over the past six months.

Hackney Food Bank is a charity organization that provides free meals, food vouchers, and donations of toys for infants and young children, operating based in the London Hackney district since 2012. As a member organization of The Trussel Trust, Hackney Food Bank reportedly provided free meals to about 7,000 residents last year.

KOTRA London Trade Center empathized with the fact that food issues among vulnerable groups have emerged due to the recent deterioration of the UK economy, and on the 15th, met with Pat Fitzsimons, CEO of Hackney Food Bank, to deliver a donation worth approximately 10 million KRW. This donation will be used as funding for an 'Emergency Meal Relief Program' to provide free meals to about 300 vulnerable children and adolescents.

The London Korean School and the Korean Association received scholarship and development funds worth approximately 11 million KRW, which are expected to be used for Korean language and history education for future generations of Korean expatriates in the UK.

Jeon Woo-hyung, head of KOTRA London Trade Center, said, "Global ESG management is a timely responsibility for our future generations," and added, "We will continue to carry out activities that help vulnerable groups locally and enhance trust in KOTRA."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.