Wansbeck Valley Food Bank extending community support with Banks Group backing
A busy South East Northumberland food bank is extending the support it can offer to people in need with the help of a four-figure grant from a regional employer.
Wansbeck Valley Food Bank provides food aid to people in need in the communities surrounding Ashington, Newbiggin, Ellington, Lynemouth, Bedlington and Morpeth, with support provided via referrals from a network of over 200 care professionals and other agencies across the area.
Alongside its emergency food distribution services, the food bank also works to help people facing homelessness or in vulnerable housing situations access essential equipment that they can use to stay safe and sheltered while they’re working towards addressing their situations.
A £1,900 grant from the Banks Group’s Banks Community Fund has now enabled the food bank to refresh its supplies of tents, sleeping bags, cutlery and crockery, which are allocated according to individuals’ particular needs.
Headquartered in Morpeth, Wansbeck Valley Food Bank was set up in 2012 to help prevent and/or relieve poverty or financial hardship across the local community, with its work being supported by a team of more than 60 local volunteers.
Some of the stock of basic dried and tinned foods is received through donations from various local churches, schools and community groups, as well as via supermarket collections, but with local food donations on the decline, supplies are also regularly replenished by the Food Bank themselves, bought in bulk by pallet load from local suppliers with regular generous financial donations from individual members of the public.
The food bank has to purchase around 80% of the food it distributes to clients. With guidance from a nutritionist, its emergency food parcels are designed to last three days and include a variety of foods to help people maintain good health.
More than 49,200 meals were distributed during 2024, with 5,947 adults and 2,391 children being supported by the food bank in 2024, while more than 1,800 referals have already been received during the first half of this year.
Karina Henery, Funding and Finance Officer at the Wansbeck Valley Food Bank, says: “We’re seeing demand for our help continuing to grow right across our area, including from families who’re struggling to make ends meet even though both parents are working, and we often see problems like food insecurity and homelessness going hand-in-hand.
“It takes an individualised approach to help each person address the different aspects of their situation as they make progress towards a more stable way of life and providing access to the sorts of basic items that most of us take for granted is a key part of this.
“We track the impact of the work we do very carefully and can see a clear link between our project and reduced food poverty and homelessness outcomes, so we know that it’s an approach that works.
“There’s a great deal of gratitude from the people receiving this equipment, as well as recognition that it’s helping to bring at least a degree of stability to what can be chaotic situations, and we’re really grateful to the Banks Group for their help in ensuring we can be there to provide practical assistance to those that need it.”
Jamilah Hassan, community manager at The Banks Group, adds: “The Wansbeck Valley Food Bank are making a massive difference to their local communities on a daily basis.
“We’re very pleased to be supporting their wholehearted commitment to doing everything they can to meet the growing demand that they’re facing.”
The Banks Group’s community funds are independently managed by Point North (formerly the County Durham Community Foundation).
Anyone from a community close to a Banks Group project who is interested in applying for funding from the Banks Community Fund should contact the company via its website enquiry form (www.banksgroup.co.uk/contact-us/) to find out if their group or project is eligible.