The UK’s favourite squeezy cheese brand, Primula Cheese, which donates all its profits to good causes, has given £341,000 through its owner Kavli Trust to help support North East community groups feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
The beneficiaries receiving the donations include Cedarwood Trust, who received £171k, and Mortal Fools who received £170k.
The Cedarwood Trust is a community development charity based in North Shields, which focusses on addressing food poverty in the local area. Its community membership store, Nourish, has been created to bridge the gap between standard supermarkets and food banks to offer a successful, quality shopping experience via a weekly membership system.
In the past year alone, the Cedarwood Trust has used 21.5 tonnes of donated food to create meals to sell, and the donation will help Cedarwood Trust build a new, ‘green’ kitchen, to allow the trust to continue to create hundreds of healthy and affordable meals.
The theatre group Mortal Fools, based in Northumberland, focuses on developing young people’s creativity, wellbeing and self-belief using the medium of drama. Primula’s donation will be used to further develop Mortal Fools new ‘Melva’ and ‘Future Ready’ drama-focused programmes.
As the squeezy cheese brand is owned by the Kavli Trust, a charitable foundation, all profits from the sale of Primula products are shared with charities and good causes in the UK and around the world. The donation follows the rise in the number of people being impacted by the cost-of-living crisis as the brand continues to fund communities most in need and who may be feeling the biggest pinch.
Commenting on the donations, Gareth Watson, Brand Communications Manager at Primula Cheese said: “Sharing is at the heart of everything we do here at Primula and has been for the last sixty years. We focus on donating our profits to causes who are truly helping to make a difference. We’re thrilled that two deserving local causes will benefit from this donation of £341,000.
“The Cedarwood Trust and Mortal Fools are two incredible charities who have already supported thousands of families across our region, during particularly difficult times. It’s humbling to know that this donation will positively impact communities across the North East.”
Cedarwood Trust CEO, Wayne Dobson, added: “We’re grateful for this donation, which will help people who are really struggling at the moment. There are lots of hidden costs associated with cooking – for example gas and electricity which are costing more than ever – and the meals we create help negate those extra costs for people.
“During a time when grant provisions are down massively, this grant could enable us to do something truly special for the local community – it could be our magic bullet.”
In 2021 £7.8 million was awarded to communities and good causes by Primula’s owner, Kavli Trust, through the sale of its products, including its world-famous squeezy cheese. Kavli Trust is the sole owner of the Kavli Group, which employs 840 people in four countries and has contributed a total of £62.7 million to good causes around the world since 2012.