Closing Factory Workers Paid to Help at Local Food Bank

Published: 20 February 2026, The English Chronicle Desk, The English Chronicle Online

Workers at a factory scheduled to close later this year are being paid to volunteer at a local food bank, in an unusual initiative that has drawn praise from the community. Employees at the Jacobs Douwe Egberts coffee factory in Banbury, Oxfordshire, are using paid time during the plant’s wind‑down to help sort and distribute food for those in need as production scales down.

The move comes as the Dutch coffee‑making giant confirms it will shut the Banbury plant — which has operated for six decades — by the end of 2026. Around 160 staff are expected to lose their jobs once the closure is complete. However, in the weeks leading up to the shutdown, groups of employees have been released from their regular duties one or two days a week to assist at the Banbury Breadline Project food bank.

Owner and organiser Andrew Wickham said the support from the JDE workers has made a real difference, helping volunteers serve hundreds of people in need each week. He added that the additional pairs of hands make keeping queues out of poor weather much easier — something he described as a “bonus for everybody.”

One factory employee, Orion Phillips, told local media that helping at the food bank has been “heart‑warming” and an eye‑opening experience. Many of the workers said they volunteered not because they needed support themselves but because they wanted to give back to the community that has supported the factory for generations.

JDE Peet’s confirmed that as the plant moves through its planned closure process, colleagues have been given the opportunity to contribute time toward local causes like the Breadline Project. A spokesperson said the company is pleased to support efforts that provide vital food assistance to vulnerable residents in Banbury and the surrounding area.

The Banbury Breadline Project currently serves around 200 people each week and relies on volunteers and donations to operate. With the food bank now also benefiting from paid factory volunteers, officials hope the collaboration will strengthen community spirit ahead of the factory’s closure later this year.

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