UK homebuilder Miller Homes has donated over £1,000 to County Durham & Sunderland Food Bank Warehouse to provide support for those most in need during the school holidays, when the charity traditionally sees an increase in demand.
This gift from Miller Homes helps to ensure that families across County Durham and Sunderland have access to food and basic essentials when they need it the most. One in five of the UK population live below the poverty line and the money raised by Miller Homes will provide 930 people with a meal across County Durham, Hartlepool and Sunderland.
Debbie Whittingham, Area Sales Director at Miller Homes Teesside, said, “The last year has been a really difficult time for everyone and there is still a long way to go for many of us. We at Miller Homes are passionate about giving back and supporting local communities.
“Being able to donate to a food bank allows us to directly impact people during a time of need.”
The relationship between the homebuilder and foodbank was established when staff in the Teesside sales team supported the foodbank over Christmas 2020, donating 86 packages of food and toiletry supplies and the relationship with the charity has grown from there.
Teesside based Development Sales Manager Margaret Eadsforth at Miller Homes the driving force behind the donation which was generated through a show home auction. She is passionate about supporting the local community and throughout her 30-year career at Miller Homes, she has helped the business support many communities and charities.
Margaret said, “The appreciation felt at Christmas from all of the staff and volunteers at County Durham & Sunderland Food Bank Warehouse really made us feel like we’d done something worthwhile, so they were front of mind when we were looking to support communities in our area again this year. We are really proud to be able to help people in crisis receive a basic meal, something a lot of people take for granted.”
In the last month alone, County Durham & Sunderland Food Bank Warehouse was able to provide three days emergency food and toiletry supplies to 1,153 people in financial crisis across Sunderland and County Durham. The Foodbank is responsible for the distribution of food across 35 centres throughout Sunderland and County Durham.
Foodbank Warehouse Co-ordinator, Jonathan Conlan, said, “We completely rely on both food and financial donations to continue to operate our foodbank network, so the generous donation from Miller Homes is very gratefully received.
“In June we received over 7.5 tonnes of donations, but we gave out over 18.5 tonnes of food so it’s a careful balancing act to make sure we don’t run out of supplies in our warehouse, which is why any donation counts.
“The donation from Miller Homes works out at around 742kg of food, which is fantastic, especially during the school holidays when we see an increase in demand.”
Currently, the charity is short on the following products:
- Semi-skimmed long-life milk
- Fresh orange juice in a carton
- Tinned sardines in tomato sauce
- Granulated sugar
Anyone can donate the produce by following this link: https://durham.foodbank.org.uk/
For more information on Miller Homes, please follow this link: https://www.millerhomes.co.uk/