FareShare North East’s Employability Training Programme, delivered by Jason Meek, is back!

This Summer two employability training programmes (Warehouse and Logistics) will be delivered in two locations – at our warehouse in Westerhope (Newcastle) and in our new Teesside warehouse – Tees Food Hub. If you are interested, please see below for more information.

Teesside Programme (starts 30th May)

Based in our new warehouse (Tees Food Hub) at 4 Cannon Way, Middlesbrough, TS1 5JU. The programme includes the following:

For further information, to make a referral and/or to register for the programme please contact TFH Volunteering & Employability Coordinator Andy Popple tel: 07378 846 172 email: andy.popple@fareshare-northeast.org.uk

Tyne & Wear Programme (starts 5th June)

Based in our warehouse on Stamfordham Road, Westerhope, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE5 5HH. The programme includes the following:

Eligibility

To find out more please visit our web page ‘Employability Programme’ contact Jason Meek on 07309660694 or select ‘Employability Programme’ on the Contact Us form. 

The World’s Biggest and Best Half Marathon

For over 42 years, Newcastle upon Tyne has been the home of the Great North Run. The Great North Run is the world’s biggest and best half marathon with an unbeatable atmosphere and a course that takes in the iconic Tyne Bridge and finishes in the coastal town of South Shields.

We have 20 places altogether this year. If you are interested and keen to run on behalf of FareShare North East, please email [email protected] to find out more and details on how to sign up.

“Being from South Shields, it feels like a rite of passage to complete the Great North Run. I finally took the plunge in 2022 and what better way to do it, than fundraising for a local charity in FareShare North East, who play such an important role in the local community. While it was a tough day, it was also loads of fun and super rewarding. FareShare North East was very supportive along the way and I’m hoping to continue fundraising for them at future events!”

Jack, 2022 runner

Support our Runners!

Whilst our runner spaces are being filled, you can also support them and FareShare North East by raising money and donating the funds. The money raised goes straight towards supporting places that need food most across the North East to help people in need. Find out more about how you can donate. 

A fundraising dinner organised by a food re-distribution charity and leading Newcastle restaurant has raised almost £2,500. 

Local charity, FareShare North East, and Blackfriars Restaurant joined forces with Nourish Food School, Bidfood, Delifresh, Warren Buttersworth Catering Butchers, Cedarwood Trust, and Discarded Spirits to host a dinner in Blackfriars ornate 13th century banqueting hall.

The dinner which took place last Thursday included cocktails made from Discarded drinks brand, a three-course feast prepared and cooked by staff and volunteers from the charity using in-dated surplus food.

FareShare North East aim is to reduce food waste and tackle hunger by delivering surplus food to over 200 local organisations and charities that turn it into nutritious meals for people in need across the North East. In 2021, FareShare North East redistributed 1718 tonnes of food across the region, providing over 4 million meals to people in need. 

The banquet promoted awareness of the charity to the wider community and spread the word through a difficult time during the cost of living crisis to help people in need across the North East. 

Andy Hook, owner of Blackfriars Restaurant, who sits on the board of the FareShare North East said:

“The work that Fareshare North East do in the region is vital to help people across the region to eat well, especially in light of the economy at the moment.  We have been hosting this banquet for a number of years now and are delighted to have raised much-needed funds again this year for such a worthwhile cause.”

The funds will go towards FareShare NorthEast’s core operations, warehouse costs, safety equipment for volunteers, and the running of the seven delivery vans.

Fareshare North East is always looking for new partners whether that’s local food producers, suppliers, or distributors to ensure no food goes to waste and can be distributed effectively to benefit both the environment and the local community. You can make a difference now!

If you would like to get involved, please contact [email protected].

Get Involved

No one should have to go hungry this Christmas. 

It has been an incredibly tough year for many with an ever-increasing number of people unable to afford the food that they need to feed their families and themselves. Millions more people are being forced into food poverty in communities across the region, and are facing unprecedented levels of economic hardship. The rise in the cost of living has impacted food prices, which has meant that the demand for food this year has skyrocketed and this situation is likely to worsen over the winter.

FareShare North East works with the food industry to access surplus food, that would otherwise go to waste, and delivers it to a network of over 200 charities and community groups across the North East. Our groups use this food to feed hundreds of individuals and families who are experiencing financial hardship and struggling to feed their families. 

The request for food assistance has grown significantly with more vulnerable people at risk of going hungry this Christmas. What we are hearing from the charities and community groups we support, is that the situation is only likely to worsen and many are worried they may not be able to meet the extra demand. 

You can make a difference by donating to the Big Give this Christmas. Donations will go towards helping FareShare North East get at least 50,000 surplus meals, that would otherwise go to waste, out to thousands of individuals and families experiencing economic hardship. By donating between Tuesday November 29th to Tuesday 6th December your donation will be doubled.

Please donate now as no one should have to go hungry this Christmas. Thank you.

DONATE NOW

A massive congratulations to the runners that took part in the Great North Run this year, raising money for FareShare North East!

On Sunday 11th September, our 10 runners completed the Great North Run. Thanks to them, their families, and friends, we have been able to raise nearly £3500 to help us deliver meals to people in need across the North East. This will make a huge difference in supporting the running of our warehouse, our delivery vans, and our core operations.

Jake Hanmore, FareShare North East’s CEO said:

“We have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this iconic and historic event, and we hope to continue in 2023 with more enthusiastic runners. Well done to everyone who took part and thanks to Great Run for organising yet another successful day”

Well done to all the determined and dedicated runners who completed the world’s biggest and best half-marathon! Find out how you could raise money for FareShare North East. 

Congratulations to FareShare UK’s Driver of the Year – Highly Commended, our very own….Terry Thompson!

Annual Volunteer Awards

In September, FareShare UK held their annual Volunteer Awards to celebrate the extraordinary volunteers across the UK who have helped to get more food than ever to charities and community groups. Terry, our longstanding volunteer driver here at FareShare North East, received the ‘Driver of the Year – Highly Commended ‘ award. We sat down with him to find out more about his experience here at FareShare North East.

A Spotlight on Terry

Terry started volunteering for FareShare North East in 2019. He was looking for a volunteering role that was meaningful and worthwhile, helpful to the community, allow him to get out and about and meet new people. Since 2019, Terry has dedicated his time as a volunteer Driver, distributing surplus food, that would otherwise go to waste, out to hundreds of charities and community groups across the North East. Terry explained that he enjoys his journeys around the North East, and values the reactions of organisations who receive deliveries each week:

“It is a humbling experience to see what effect our efforts are having on the various communities they support and the heartfelt gratitude they demonstrate”.

Terry mentioned that he has had nothing but positive experiences whilst volunteering at FareShare North East, enjoying both the banter with volunteers and staff in the warehouse, and sharing life experiences with van assistants whilst out on deliveries.

In his spare time, Terry enjoys enjoys feeding trout with sweetcorn (sometimes finding it hard!), watching the Mighty Magpies draw nearly every match, watching other sports, as well as reading historical and local fiction. When asked about what he would say to someone who is thinking about volunteering, Terry said:

“I would say just do it. The ethos of the charity is the avoidance of waste, but they also promote an atmosphere that is welcoming, inclusive and very, very friendly. The work the charity, and the volunteers do, is worthwhile and I think that anyone who is volunteering would feel, like me, a great sense of satisfaction that they have done something valuable with their spare time.”

Thank You

FareShare North East would like to say a massive thank you and congratulations to Terry on winning FareShare’s ‘Driver of the Year – High Commended’ Award. We would also like to recognise and thank everyone who volunteers, and who make such an amazing contribution in the collective effort to get food out to those who need it most in the region.

“I am extremely grateful to be nominated for this award and I am both honoured and humbled to accept it in the knowledge that every volunteer deserves to be recognised in this way and I accept on their behalf.”

If you would like to join Terry and our team of amazing volunteers, find out more about how you could volunteer for FareShare North East.