College donates to food bank to help those in need

Northumberland College is helping a local food bank feed the vulnerable people and families in crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the college moving to online teaching and learning, unused stock from campus refectories have been passed to the Wansbeck Valley Food Bank to be distributed in Northumberland.

Dozens of boxes of crisps, cookies, brownies, chocolate bars, fruit juice and soft drinks have been collected by the foodbank from Ashington Campus.

Darren Lawton, Education Partnership North East’s Food and Beverage Manager, said: “With the majority of our students at home we didn’t want the stock to go to waste.

“The college prides itself on being at the heart of the community and we are proud to support Wansbeck Valley Foodbank and help those who need it most.”

Wansbeck Valley Food Bank provides a stop gap food bank for individuals and families in the Wansbeck Valley area including Ashington, Morpeth and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

In addition to donating food, Northumberland College engineering lecturer Freeman worked around the clock to manufacture essential personal protection equipment (PPE) to keep front line NHS staff safe during the outbreak.

If you require immediate help from Sunderland Foodbank, call Citizen’s Advice on 03444 111444 (Morpeth and Ashington). To make a donation, visit www.wansbeckvalleyfoodbank.org.