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. 

Thank you to Metrocentre who were raising money for FareShare North East at their Summer Festival week…the total amount raised was £1,753!

Between the 11th-14th August, FareShare North East staff and volunteers represented our charity at the Metrocentre Summer Festival event. Thank you to everyone who donated. Donations like these make a huge difference in helping us to carry out work here in the warehouse, so we are very grateful to those who donated and to our volunteers who were involved in the event!

Barbara, a volunteer at FareShare North East, said:

“Being involved in FareShare North East and helping with the Metrocentre collection is just one small thing I can do to help alleviate food poverty”.

Thank you to all the superheroes, characters and Candy Floss events who helped and supported us throughout the event.

Join Blackfriars, FareShare North East and Nourish Food School for a very special banquet in aid of food redistribution charity FareShare North East and help us raise awareness of food poverty and landfill issues on 20th October 2022.

Blackfriars chefs, Nourish Food School trainers, and volunteers will help to create and prepare a mouth-watering feast using surplus in-date food with every single penny raised going straight towards FareShare North East’s work to deliver good food to good causes. 

The three-course communal meal in Blackfriars medieval Banquet Hall will start at 7pm with a welcome aperitif provided by Discarded Spirits who use left-over fruit to create their unique rums and vodkas. There will be a brief talk on Fareshare’s work as well. Carriages at 10pm.

Where?

At Blackfriars Banquet Hall, Friars Street, Newcastle, NE1 4XN

Arrivals from 7 pm

Tickets cost £39.50, all proceeds go to supporting our work to deliver surplus food.

Smart casual dress code

Places are only confirmed once paid in full and are non-refundable or transferable

If you’re interested in supporting our work and having a night of surplus food creations and community engagement, then you can buy a ticket here: 

If you have any questions about the event, please contact [email protected] 

We look forward to seeing you there. 

From September 2020 to March 2022, FareShare North East worked with partners, Gateshead College and Your Homes Newcastle to deliver a Community Led Local Development funded employment programme.

The impact

The programme had 55 referrals:

• 42 completed the programme
• 33 went on to gain employment or continued to gain more experience by volunteering on a regular basis
• 9 became engaged with other employment services and organisations

What did the participants say?

We had lots of great feedback from the participants of the programme…from building confidence, improving wellbeing and meeting new people, to gaining new skills and qualifications required for the workplace.

Take a look of what some of our participants have to say:

“I liked learning different things and it opened my eyes to new things. The tutors were nice and really helpful and I learnt different things. I knew what to expect as I volunteered there already and I like the fact I’m helping other people and I’m more confident because I have a purpose now as I’ve gained employment. I’m good at communicating with people but I feel I have met and connected with more people. I would tell others to go on it, to build your confidence, talk to new people and I’d really recommend it.” (PH) 

“I liked the practical training in the warehouse, I think that was really helpful and gave me an insight on what warehouse jobs would entail. The teachers were very friendly and approachable and the staff were very supportive and I could always ask someone for help. I gained new skills and qualifications, it increased my confidence and gave me an insight into warehouse and logistics work and it improved my chances of gaining employment and since attending the program I have got a job as a Lab Support Worker for the NHS. I think it is a great idea and will really help people in gaining new skills and qualifications.” (MM)

Find out more

From September 2021 to June 2022 we were joined by six students who have been getting some hands-on work experience while studying on the Supported Internship placement course at Newcastle College

Welcoming the Placement Students

The students worked in the office, helping to sending out emails to groups we deliver to, logging volunteer hours and filing. Some students also worked in the warehouse, learning about working with stock, manual handling and food hygiene, as well as pick food deliveries to go out to our members.

The Impact of the Placement

We spoke with Lynn, the SEND Preparing for Work Coordinator within the School of Learning Development at Newcastle College about the impact of the placements:

“During the placement, the students were able to build on their confidence and employability skills. This was done by working as part of the team and using their initiative when required. They were also also to build on the social skills that some students lacked at the start of the placement, however, during the course this was becoming evident that they were able to talk to new people and work alongside them.

The college are so grateful for the opportunity that FareShare gave to the students in hosting the placements. The work the students carried out allowed them to build on the transferrable skills that will enable them to apply for jobs in a range of areas. Students have become more confident in different environments and with different situations they may face. They have also been able to add this to their CV, making them more employable when applying for jobs.”

What did the placement students say?

“It was an excellent working experience, the staff were polite and would guide you if you got confused on what to do, so it helped me with confidence and gave me better work experience”

“Working at FareShare has changed my life as not only did I get to work in a warehouse environment for the first time, but I also got to meet some amazing people who I am still friends with to this day. FareShare opened my eyes on food insecurity and just how big of an issue it is across the UK, because of this I am extremely grateful that I can go home and have a warm meal when others might not get to do that. I would love to thank FareShare for giving me this amazing time I had working for them and changing the way I see food and charity”

We are so thankful the placement students joined us and we wish them all the best for the future!

Find out more about what we do here at FareShare North East and how you can get involved.