Karbon colleagues dig deep to help feed those in need

Our colleagues have shown their support for those in need this winter, raising a whooping £2,600 for food banks across the North East.

Despite not being able to do our usual physical collection of donations in the run up to Christmas, we weren’t going to let the pandemic stop us and instead launched a digital appeal, asking our people to make a monetary donation online.

Colleagues from across the organisation dug deep and in just 20 days, we reached a total of £1,200, which included a £100 donation from contractor, Novus.

The generosity of our colleagues was then match funded by Karbon, taking it to £2,400, which was then topped up by a further £200 donation from our Colleague Forum’s yearly budget.

The total has been split between local foodbanks across the areas we operate, from Northumberland down to Teesside, ensuring that those who seek assistance over the winter months receive the support they need.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this winter looks set to be the busiest yet for many foodbanks. Research shows that around half the people who have used a food bank this year have never needed to before and according to forecasts from The Trussell Trust, the UK's biggest food bank network, a 61% increase in food parcels will be needed this winter compared last year.

It’s clear that every penny really does count this year, so the money raised by our colleagues is being split between 9 local foodbanks;

£500 - County Durham Foodbank

£300 - Wansbeck Valley Foodbank, which covers Morpeth and South East Northumberland

£300 - Gateshead Foodbank

£300 - Newcastle East Foodbank

£350 - Consett Food 4U (£200) and Community Pantry (£150), which both cover Consett and surrounding areas of the Derwent Valley

£300 - The Bay which covers North Tyneside.

£300 - Hartlepool Foodbank

£250 - Sunderland Foodbank

No one should be forced to turn to a charity because they can’t afford food, which is why Karbon is backing The Tussell Trust's 'Hunger Free Futures' campaign.

In the first six months of the pandemic, food banks in the Trussell Trust network gave out a staggering 1.2 million emergency food parcels. That’s one food parcel every 13 seconds, and 2,600 of these went to children every day on average.

The campaign was launched to demand fundamental change, both locally and nationally. The hope is that one day foodbanks will be able to close their doors as there is no longer food poverty in our communities.