Member Article

North Group helps tackle food poverty this winter

North Group helps tackle food poverty this winter with gift to Gateshead Food Bank.

North Group’s North 150 Fund at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland has made an award of £5,000 to the Gateshead Food Bank. The award will allow the charity to deliver food to families in our region with the lease of delivery vehicle and associated costs.

Gateshead Foodbank helps local people who are in crisis and hungry. The project is entirely run by volunteers and provides support to households facing hardship in the community by partnering with local agencies who refer individuals and households to receive food aid. A team of weekly volunteers run drop-in sessions as well as providing a delivery service to housebound, elderly and hard to reach beneficiaries.

A grant of £5,000 from the North 150 Fund has allowed the charity to lease a van for a year, which will enable the charity to expand and become more efficient at managing collections and distributions as previously this was all done via the cars of the food bank’s volunteers.

Jackie Beeley, Chair of Gateshead Food Bank explains:

“Food poverty is an issue which affects many people in our community. Every day people go hungry and we aim to tackle that by providing food, and support. Thanks to North we’ve been able to acquire a van on a long-term lease which will allow us to collect and deliver more food to help feed those in our community most at need.”

Catherine Doyle, North Group said:

“This winter we have seen the devastation of storms across the UK and can see quite quickly circumstances can change and how people can find themselves in a crisis. The Gateshead Food Bank is a lifeline to many in our community. We’re delighted to support the project with a grant of £5,000 securing the long-term lease of a van which will mean that more people can be reached to tackle food poverty”.

Gill Lowing, Senior Philanthropy Advisor at the Community Foundation said:

“Our Vital Signs research shows that poverty and inequality could become the “hidden problems” in Tyne & Wear as statistics from the government are becoming scarcer. Our grantees tell us that times have become more difficult for many, in part due to changes in the welfare system or tighter family budgets that mean they can’t make ends meet when there is an unexpected bill or repair. North is a brilliant example of a responsible business that is helping to tackle this issue, and services such as the Gateshead Food Bank can make a real difference to the lives of local people.”

The North 150 Fund, a fund at the Community Foundation, was set up to commemorate the Group’s 150 year anniversary five years ago. In 2015 the Fund made five awards totalling £26,935, and in five years has made awards of over £72,000.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Adam Lopardo .