UK's Largest Foodbank in Newcastle Facing Cuts
Newcastle's West End Food bank has their funding halved after investors pull out a year early.
The future of the UK's biggest food bank hangs in the balance after investors have decided to pull out their funds a year early.
The Newcastle West End Foodbank helps around a thousand people in the North East every single week, handing out food parcels to families in crisis.
The centre also helps by finding the underlying causes of so called “food poverty” in the local community.
Around £150,000 is needed to continue the services but with their funding slashed to half of that amount the charity has had to scale back and close their doors.
The centre will now only be open 1 day a week, meaning that some of the regions poorest that rely of the banks could end up going without food for several days at a time.
Michael Nixon from The Newcastle West End Foodbank said: “There will be no longer be services on a Monday, so if someone hits trouble on a Friday, they will have to wait until the following Thursday to get food”
Members of staff have managed to keep the food bank open for now, but at the expense of their own wage packet.
There centre has only 3 months to try and replace the £75,000 they have lost.
Michael continued: “By cutting our working hours and cutting our salaries, we’ve been able to ensure that the food bank can continue in one form or another for another for another 12 months and we have enough food in stock to last us 3 months, if we’re careful, but we really need to find a new funder and I’d love that funder to be in Newcastle”
- “We’ll be ok for a few weeks, but they we’ll have to start really tightening our belt and making sure that we are as fair to people as we possibly can be and are able to give to those most in need”*
Volunteers and members of staff at the West End foodbank have applied to various places for funding and grants in the hope that they can restore the services that thousands of people in the North East depend on every week.