Warburtons’ Newburn bakery has reached a milestone in its product donation initiative, by reaching a total of 60,000 products donated to the local community.
The bakery giant, which has a bakery in Newburn, has reaffirmed its support for communities through The Warburtons Foundation, which sees regular product donations go directly into the hands of those families most in need, through community hubs including schools and foodbanks. The Foundation has a commitment to donate one million products by the end of the year 2022.
The 60,000th product from Newburn was donated to CDW Foodbank, a community-based foodbank in West Denton. Gillian Warden, Warburtons North East Community Champion, said: “We’re delighted to have hit this milestone.
"Being able to help so many schools and community groups through our product donation scheme is something we’re very proud of. Through the initiative, we’ve been able to donate 60,000 bakery products to schools, foodbanks and community shops to help those who really need them in and around Newburn, including organisations such as St Cuthbert’s Primary Catholic School, Dawdon Youth & Community Centre and West End Foodbank."
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The Warburtons Foundation, which launched on April 5 2022, aims to help community organisations in local areas throughout the UK. In addition to financial giving, the Foundation provides food education initiatives and product donations with a pledge to donate one million fresh products nationally to schools, foodbanks, and community groups by the end of the year.
Jonathan Warburton, chairman of Warburtons, said: “As a family business, we know how difficult the past two years have been for people across the country. And we know that right now, in many ways, things aren’t getting any easier.
"That’s why we have launched The Warburtons Foundation, with an ambitious pledge to donate one million freshly baked products this year to those in need. Our industry is dealing with a range of challenges at the moment, from the rising price of wheat to the availability of ingredients, and we are doing all that we can to absorb the impact these are having on our business, to avoid affecting those that enjoy our products every day.
"We have seen our business whether significant impacts over the past two years, but we’ve come out on the other side and want to continue giving back to our communities.”
During times of financial uncertainty due to the cost of living, t he Foundation has been focused on three key areas: product donation, education, and financial giving to help struggling families. This sits alongside a trial with the charity Magic Breakfast in which Warburtons has been supplying fresh bread to children in 30 schools.
To help tackle the gap in food education, The Warburtons Foundation has a programme named “Bake the Most of Life” to support both primary and secondary schools with curriculum-linked, free online resources. It's designed to engage kids with healthy eating and food provenance, this is available for all schools to access, with a target of reaching 1.5 million children in the next three years.
Building on its legacy of community activity, the Warburtons Foundation is also committed to funding local charities and community groups across the UK through its financial giving programme. Groups are invited to apply for grants from £400 up to £20,000 with previous support provided to national projects including cooking classes for families with disabled children in West Bromwich through to the instillation of Beehives in Derbyshire.
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