M&S Cramlington

Looprun is a response division and part of an independent social enterprise. This is more than food and is part of a supportive services platform to help people get sustained in their own individual way. With up to 94% success rate and seeing once those receiving free Looprun response bags to returning to stores as shoppers with baskets full. These are the impact stories created when all come together to do good for good. Service users are signposted to Looprun mostly from referrals including professionals in social and healthcare. Looprun provides free non perishables, perishable food, toiletries, and brand new clothing to people facing a temporary challenge. Whatever supermarkets, stores, and retailers can do is turned into a grateful donation to a neighbour in need. This is a response to real people in real-time. No food is banked providing a direct in and out service. We believe if the food is stored then a person in need is not getting any food, hence we provide an instant response and instant impact service. Looprun has access to professional volunteers who carry out a confidential support service to people in need. From homeless shelters, hostels, sheltered housing, care homes, soup kitchens and schools. This is a non voucher, free and confidential service. This means Looprun can reach more people in need with food donations. Anyone that receives a Looprun bag of essential food items is sustained thus creating a loop cycle. All are invited to become part of these sustainable stories in your local community. For further information and gallery access on the impact of Looprun please visit: Website: https://www.looprun-sciv.online/

Every day, people go hungry in the UK for all kinds of reasons, from changes and delays in the benefits system to redundancy to receiving an unexpectedly large bill for a major repair. A simple box of food makes a big difference, with foodbanks helping prevent crime, housing loss, family breakdown and mental health problems. We work with local GP’s, Northumberland County Council, Citizens Advice, the Job Centre and local support agencies to identify those in need of food help. At Cramlington Foodbank at the Hope Centre (in addition to food support) our activities include a uniform and baby equipment provision, spiritual, legal, financial and pastoral services in order to help those in our local community in need. All of our services are completely free of charge.

Situated within a large social housing estate (ex council stock) our building is recognised as a community hub and has evolved according to community need. NCEL runs a number of services and projects from its Hub, known locally as The Stobhill Link; particularly targeting the elderly, disabled, disadvantaged and isolated as well as the unemployed working age community in order to alleviate hardship and provide opportunities for brighter futures for our residents. We have confidential and informal conversations with our clients discussing their primary reason for coming into see us and then are able to offer a wrap around service where we can support them further. - General charitable purposes - Education/training - Disability - Economic/community development/employment - Recreation - Children/young people - Elderly/old people - People with disabilities - The general public/mankind - Provides buildings/facilities/open space - Provides services - Provides advocacy/advice/information In response to the Covid-19 Outbreak, we immediately launched an enabling service, this resulted in more than 90 local people offering their time, energy and fuel to deliver shopping, prescriptions etc. to those who were self-isolating or vulnerable and unable to leave their home. This encouraged our local newspaper the Morpeth Herald to contact us and include an article on what we were doing with the support of our community. We currently have connections with a local charity, Calmer Therapy where we are starting a project called The Bread & Butter Thing also with the Council and their strategic food partnership known as Nourish to tackle food poverty.