Food Bank Friday – Working with Newcastle West End Foodbank
Once again we are working with the Newcastle West End Food Bank to offer an alternative to Black Friday. We will be donating an item directly from our stock to the Newcastle West End Foodbank with every order we take over £30. On top of this we will be giving our customers a 20% discount as an extra incentive to take part!
With the cost of living crisis hitting hard it is more important than ever to support those in need. On top of Food Bank Friday our suppliers are also making their own donations.
We started our Food Bank Friday campaign back in 2015, after seeing the idea of Black Friday take off in the UK, somewhat by surprise in 2014. Along with it, all of the chaos, big queues at stores, stampedes, people fighting over cheap TVs and all sorts of things they didn’t need to buy in the first place. The whole focus was on buying, buying, buying for yourself, so we thought we’d try to do something more positive and encourage people to think of and help others.
In March 2013 the Newcastle West End Food Bank was opened and provided food to around 30 people a week, however within a year it had become the biggest in the UK feeding around 55,000 a year. In 2015 when looking at what we could do to spread an alternative message it seemed natural to pair up with our local foodbank and give our shoppers an easy, tangible way to help. We stock a huge range of high quality ethical groceries and everyday products, so it made perfect sense to make a donation of these as our Food Bank Friday Campaign. With every order over £30 we would donate an item directly from our stock to the Newcastle West End Food Bank. As an extra incentive to get people to take part we gave a discount on all orders. Each order resulting in an physical item going to someone who needed it.
The first year we ran the campaign we were amazed by the response, we ran it over the ‘Black Friday weekend’ and as a result donated over £1,500 worth of grocery items to the Newcastle West End Food Bank.
The following year we decided we should do more and extended the length of the campaign to a full week. Each year after this we have run Food Bank Friday and each year we have donated more and more items to the food bank. Since we started Food Bank Friday 32,339 items have been donated with a value of over £49,000!
Last year we had a record donation of 5,638 items with a value of over £9,000! We hope to improve on that this year and help even more people!
Between 21st November and 28th November we will donate an item directly from our stock to the foodbank with every order taken over £30. As an extra incentive we are also giving you a 20% discount!
Why just the Newcastle West End Foodbank?
We would love to help foodbanks up and down the country but we decided it would be better to work with our local food bank for logistical reasons. Firstly it is the busiest foodbank in the UK so there is a huge demand. Secondly we provide items the foodbank requests and has a shortage of so we can supply anything from pasta, soups to soaps based on the current need. If we worked with all foodbanks the donation would be hugely diluted between them and would involve far more cost and administration for no more reward to the foodbank.
How does the Newcastle West End Foodbank help?
Newcastle West End Foodbank help people in crisis, this September 2,019 food parcels were given to people in crisis between compared to 1,375 in the same month last year. A food parcel contains a minimum of three days of nutritionally balanced, non-perishable, tinned and dried foods. A typical food parcel includes: breakfast cereal, soup, pasta, rice, pasta sauce, baked beans, tinned meat, tinned vegetables, instant mash, UHT milk, tea, coffee, sugar, tinned dessert and biscuits.
On top of this the Newcastle West End Foodbank opened their organic garden in 2019, here they grow fresh organic vegetables, these are used in combination with fresh or perishable donations (often from local restaurants and cafes) to cook hot meals for people in need. We took a look around the organic garden which you can read about here!
What items do we supply?
We supply a range of grocery and health products to the foodbank. The items we provide are based on the current need. The foodbank will receive generous donations from individuals and businesses, but they cannot predict what people will donate, especially with businesses who may donate a large quantity of a single item or type of item. This is where we come in, as we have a range of over 6,000 products we can get the products which are needed the most to the foodbank and fill any shortages they have! It’s not just tins of soup, we provide all sorts, everything from toothbrushes, soap, plastic period products to baby food.
Is it only for one week you support the foodbank?
Not at all! Whilst Food Bank Friday is our main campaign with the Newcastle West End Foodbank we make donations all through the year. In the checkout you are able to make a donation to one of 7 charities, if you select the foodbank you are able to make a cash donation, we will top this up by 20%. In total £19,960 was raised for the Newcastle West End Foodbank in 2021! You can see what else was raised on our donation page.