A charity's efforts to feed vulnerable people across North Tyneside has received a significant boost thanks to a £171,000 donation from a North East company.
Cedarwood Trust will use the money to build a kitchen that will provide hundreds of affordable meals made in an environmentally-friendly way. The charity will sell the meals, mainly to people over 50, from its Meadow Well Estate hub in North Shields while some will be given to organisations such as Nite Bite, which provides food to homeless people.
Money raised from the sale of meals will be reinvested into the Cedarwood Trust's services that benefit the community. The organisation hopes the kitchen will be operational before Christmas, and ready to help people combat inflation, including expected fuel bill rises.
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The donation has come from the Kavli Trust, the charitable foundation that owns Primula Cheese and donates profits to good causes in the UK and overseas. The company is based on Gateshead's Team Valley.
Cedarwood Trust CEO Wayne Dobson said: “This will help people who are really struggling at the moment. There are a lot of hidden costs associated with cooking – for example gas and electricity which are costing more than ever – and these meals negate those extra costs for people. Meals will also be bought by partner agencies like Nite Bite, and this healthy, fresh food will be given to people who can’t afford to feed themselves.
“The money we make will also help us to reach a level of self-sustainability – it will be reinvested straight back into the Trust and the various services that we offer, that are dedicated to fighting poverty on the Meadow Well Estate and further afield in the North East. In these times which are so difficult for charities to navigate, when grant provisions are down massively, this could really be the start of something special. It could be our magic bullet.
“This extremely generous donation will also enable us to increase the number of training opportunities and qualifications we can offer in our Nurture Academy, helping to get people into employment. We are absolutely overwhelmed by what the Kavli Trust has done for us, and are so excited about what this could mean for the region.”
The Cedarwood Trust provided more than 40,000 free meals for vulnerable people during lockdown. It also runs a Food Membership Scheme with 400 members who have the chance to pay just £4 a week for £15 of fresh food and household products, and the option to take fruit and vegetables away for free. The new kitchen will also be used to ramp up the charity's free catering skills and qualifications provision via its Nurture Academy places.
Kavli Trust has supported communities to the tune of £62m over the last decade. The organisation’s unique ownership structure means that all profits from household brands like Primula and Castle Maclellan are shared with good causes in the UK and around the world.
Paul Lewney, managing director at Kavli UK, said: “Charity is at the heart of everything we do as a business, with all profits from the sale of our products, including Primula Cheese and Castle Maclellan supporting good causes. As an organisation, we’re incredibly proud to have been sustainably investing in communities for sixty years.
“We’re delighted that Kavli Trust has selected Cedarwood Trust to receive funding of £171,000. Incredibly, studies suggest that 30-40% of all food grown is not eaten, so we look forward to seeing the positive impact of reducing food waste on both our local community and the environment.”
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