WE have agreed with Barclays UK to use a portion of their grant to support the opening of a FareShare NE Food Hub in Tees Valley.
This hub will provide a warehouse for food that would otherwise go to landfill. Fair Share have national partnerships that will ensure constant stock availability and the hub will provide stock to local Eco-shops who will help this food reach the people most in need.
The nearest current hub is in Tyneside, a close-on 60-mile round trip from Tees Valley. Being able to create a local hub will provide Teesside based services with a reliable, accessible and cost-effective source of food.
To ensure the hub is sustainable, local eco-shops make an annual contribution to receive one delivery per week from the hub. By offering support to these eco-shops through our Barclays funding we are able to remove the immediate pressure to make that annual payment in 2021.
The eco-shops, such as the one pictures here at the Genesis Project in Grove Hill in Middlesbrough, can then use the revenue they make this year to fund next year’s payment and continue this pattern in future years, ensuring their long-term viability.
If you would like to know more about this project, e-mail paul.shepherd@mfcfoundation.co.uk