Mayor of Gateshead presents £4,000 to charity Feeding Families
As one of her final initiatives as Mayor of Gateshead, Councillor Eileen McMaster visited her chosen charity for the year, Feeding Families, to award them £4,030.
Every year, the Mayor of Gateshead chooses a charity close to their heart to support during their time in office. This year, Councillor McMaster wanted to champion Feeding Families, a local food poverty charity that works to ensure that thousands of families across the North East have access to essential food boxes and support packages.
During her tenure as Mayor, Councillor McMaster has led activities to raise as much as possible for Feeding Families, hosting a charity afternoon with other civic heads from across the region and fellow councillors, as well as visiting Gateshead-based organisations to boost awareness of the charity's work. Council colleagues have also got behind Feeding Families, raising money and providing food donations through a campaign led by Bewicks Café, based at Gateshead Civic Centre.
As well as presenting the cheque to CEO and Founder of Feeding Families Juliet Sanders, Councillor McMaster was given a tour of the charity's distribution centre in Blaydon where volunteers helped create some of the 4,000 food boxes the charity packs each month.
Councillor McMaster said: "I'm really pleased to present this funding to Feeding Families. They do an incredible job, offering support and hope to those experiencing food insecurity. No one should have to go hungry, and I hope that our contribution helps reach more of those who need it. I'd like to thank everyone across our communities who've raised funds, donated food and spread the message about Feeding Families and what they do. We wouldn't have raised as much without you."
Juliet Sanders, added: "In the past year we've produced about 46,000 boxes of food. We buy the vast majority of it with donations that we receive, and so I'd like to thank Gateshead Council for their support. It will have a real impact on how many people we can help."
The donation to Feeding Families forms a small part of the work we do as a council to help our residents experiencing food insecurity. Sadly, there's been a huge rise in demand for foodbanks and emergency food provision across the UK in recent years, particularly in the North East.
We want to see an end to poverty and food insecurity and are doing our best to help those at the sharp end of this. This includes awarding grants to 16 organisations to run courses about cooking on a budget (funded by the Household Support Fund) and introducing our Brighten the Day programme, through which we provide healthy food and fun activities during the holidays to children who usually receive free school meals. We also coordinate Gateshead Food Partnership, a network of organisations working to ensure everyone has access to healthy and affordable food.
If you would like to donate to Feeding Families, you can do so via their website (opens new window).
If you need support, visit our cost-of-living support page to see what might be available for you.
As one of her final initiatives as Mayor of Gateshead, Councillor Eileen McMaster visited her chosen charity for the year, Feeding Families, to award them £4,030.
Every year, the Mayor of Gateshead chooses a charity close to their heart to support during their time in office. This year, Councillor McMaster wanted to champion Feeding Families, a local food poverty charity that works to ensure that thousands of families across the North East have access to essential food boxes and support packages.
During her tenure as Mayor, Councillor McMaster has led activities to raise as much as possible for Feeding Families, hosting a charity afternoon with other civic heads from across the region and fellow councillors, as well as visiting Gateshead-based organisations to boost awareness of the charity's work. Council colleagues have also got behind Feeding Families, raising money and providing food donations through a campaign led by Bewicks Café, based at Gateshead Civic Centre.
As well as presenting the cheque to CEO and Founder of Feeding Families Juliet Sanders, Councillor McMaster was given a tour of the charity's distribution centre in Blaydon where volunteers helped create some of the 4,000 food boxes the charity packs each month.
Councillor McMaster said: "I'm really pleased to present this funding to Feeding Families. They do an incredible job, offering support and hope to those experiencing food insecurity. No one should have to go hungry, and I hope that our contribution helps reach more of those who need it. I'd like to thank everyone across our communities who've raised funds, donated food and spread the message about Feeding Families and what they do. We wouldn't have raised as much without you."
Juliet Sanders, added: "In the past year we've produced about 46,000 boxes of food. We buy the vast majority of it with donations that we receive, and so I'd like to thank Gateshead Council for their support. It will have a real impact on how many people we can help."
The donation to Feeding Families forms a small part of the work we do as a council to help our residents experiencing food insecurity. Sadly, there's been a huge rise in demand for foodbanks and emergency food provision across the UK in recent years, particularly in the North East.
We want to see an end to poverty and food insecurity and are doing our best to help those at the sharp end of this. This includes awarding grants to 16 organisations to run courses about cooking on a budget (funded by the Household Support Fund) and introducing our Brighten the Day programme, through which we provide healthy food and fun activities during the holidays to children who usually receive free school meals. We also coordinate Gateshead Food Partnership, a network of organisations working to ensure everyone has access to healthy and affordable food.
If you would like to donate to Feeding Families, you can do so via their website (opens new window).
If you need support, visit our cost-of-living support page to see what might be available for you.
