SUPERMARKET workers in Marlow are calling for organisations to come forward and receive a slice of funding in the shape of festive food to provide for the lonely and isolated this Christmas.

Staff at Waitrose on Chapel Street want to hear from charities or groups who work with people cut off from society so they can divert in-store fundraising to help with their work.

An estimated 1.2 million people over 50 in the UK are lonely or isolated and could face spending Christmas alone.

Waitrose’s isolation campaign, which last year supported over 500 Christmas dinner events nationwide, wants to provide turkeys and all the trimmings to outreach groups in Marlow so no one goes hungry this festive period.

Liam Pendry, Waitrose Marlow's Partner Coordination Manager, said: "We are targeting isolated people in Marlow at Christmas a lot more this year.

"We’re looking to give to four different organisations, which we will dedicate two months of fundraising for.

"It’s important, we don’t want people being on their own at Christmas. We want to be able to support the isolated people of Marlow and High Wycombe.

"It is to make sure everyone has someone to talk to, no one should be lonely at that time of year."

Last year, Waitrose workers volunteered to help the charities they were supporting through produce, with some staff signing up to help serve dinners on Christmas Day.

Organisations that nominate themselves and fulfil the criteria will get their own ‘token box’ in store, with customers choosing where they want to deposit the token received at the checkout.

Mr Pendry said it is hoped that two outreach groups would feature each month for October and November, with stock donated in December.

Organisations which provide support for Christmas Day itself will be prioritised under the scheme.

Mayor Suzanne Brown helps run an outreach on Christmas Day, providing lunches for around 40 Marlovians every year.

The charitable councillor says ages at her lunch range from 35 to 99, stressing there are far more people in town lonely at Christmas than meet the eye.

She said: "It is definitely needed, the problem is there are far more people that we do not get to know about.

"The problem sometimes is people say they don't want to accept charity, but it's not like that.

"It's important, for instance everywhere is shut and you can't just go into a pub or anything, it can't be a very lonely time unless you have somewhere to go.

"The elderly people who come have often recently lost their partners, but you hear stories of families who don't want their mothers there at Christmas, I've seen people in tears, it's horrid.

"Younger people might have been divorced and everybody else has a family do and they have nowhere else, often it's been like that for them for years."

To nominate your charity or group for Waitrose's campaign, visit partner coordination manager Liam Pendry in store or call 01628 483464.