Ballymena Chamber of Commerce and Contact Marketing 

Supporting Families and Their Pets

Ballymena Chamber of Commerce and Chamber members Contact Marketing (NI) stepped up to assist when they were asked for help by The MEA Affordable Food Club. The food club saw many families were having to give their pets away as they could not afford to feed them. Contact Marketing who make both Favour and Clinivet dog food donated over £700 of dog food to help ensure vulnerable families could afford to keep their pets.

The Affordable Food Club’s Operations Director Michele Campbell said ‘We found that whilst we were providing support to local families many of these families had pets and were being forced to give their pets away as they could not afford to feed them. In addition to the trauma of giving a family pet away it was impacting negatively on the family’s mental health. I asked the Chamber of Commerce if they could assist with sourcing some dog food for us and within days they came back to say Contact Marketing were happy to make a sizable donation’.

Steven McGarry, Managing Director of Contact Marketing said ‘When we heard that families could not afford to feed their pets we were delighted to offer help. We understand many families are struggling at this time and pets can offer so much to family life’.

Chamber President Leigh Heggarty said ‘The Affordable Food Club are providing an invaluable service within the local community and as a Chamber we are delighted that our members are willing to provide assistance and support. When the community needs help it is local businesses who are first to react and that is another reason we would encourage people to shop locally and support our local businesses.’

Chamber Chief Executive, Tom Wiggins explained that Chamber has developed a Community Outreach Programme and in addition to providing a wide spectrum of support to local business they are also trying to help families and individuals at this difficult time. Tom again stressed that this could only be achieved because of the tremendous support from Chamber members such as Contact Marketing.

The MEA Affordable Food Club gives individuals and families the opportunity to join the Club for a small weekly fee and they can then access food and other essential items at very low prices meaning they can budget better and save money which can be put to other needs such as heating and clothing. It is also offering a ‘warm space’ where you can sit in warmth and have a cup of tea or coffee. Operations Director Michele Campbell said ‘The Affordable Food Club is steadily growing its membership and it is thanks to the generosity of individuals and businesses in the area that we are able to help those in need of support and help them better manage their finances by reducing the cost of some basic supplies’.