Lidl Alnwick

We supply essential and every day items to vulnerable and underprivileged families in Northumberland.

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.

At Swansfield Park Primary School we understand the importance of children having breakfast. We have noticed some children come to school without breakfast and we are therefore introducing a 'breakfast table' before school. This will be a safe, secure environment where any child can have a decent breakfast with their friends. There has been a wealth of research into the benefits of children having a good breakfast, including: * Improved concentration * Improved attendance and punctuality * Better behaviour * Improved attainment and achievement at school. The morning rush to leave the house is often the most stressful part of the day for parents of primary school children. Making sure children are up, washed, dressed and have had a decent breakfast can be an uphill struggle. Depending on availability we will be offering children a selection of cereal, toast, bakery goods, yogurts, fruits and fruit juice. There will be no charge made for children having breakfast and therefore donations of food items will be a great help in providing this invaluable service.