Sainsbury's Gilesgate Local

We currently operate 4 days a week to over 80 local households, delivering over 1,000 food parcels a month. We have 28 local people involved as volunteers. We appreciate that a regular call from a smiling volunteer who is interested in their well being can make all the difference to people who struggle with social isolation or poverty. We are an established arm of the Gilesgate Residents Association. Our volunteers are connected to 4 local churches, Belmont Labour Group, Belmont Parish Council and Gilesgate Residents Association. When our project started in April, there was no long term plan. Our aim was to reduce social isolation and support people in our local community who were struggling. We helped them get food and other essentials and chatted to people on their doorsteps. We link people up to other local services who can help them. We now collect and redistribute fresh food that cannot be sold and is unwanted by the Foodbanks. We also make jams and chutney using fruit from donations and local allotments. We work with the local food banks, supporting residents to access the service when they are in crisis. We have an organised rota of households we deliver to, including the Durham Women's Refuge in Gilesgate and the DASH Vulnerable Women's project. We also have a food donation point in Sainsbury's in Belmont. People can self-refer by contacting us or others can refer them. The only criteria is they want to receive a visit from us and will be at home when we call. At weekends we set up a production line in the Durham City Baptist Church in Gilesgate and make up food parcels for all the households on our lists. We are always looking for food donations to support our Saturday deliveries.

Coxhoe and Area Community Pantry's vision is to ensure everyone in Coxhoe and its it's surrounding villages will have access to good food, and help the environment by alleviating food wastage. Our aim is to offer a service which works for the benefit of our local community and we work with residents, local businesses, partners and stakeholders to offer a fit for purpose volunteer operated food resource centre, sourcing and sharing surplus affordable food with those currently experiencing food insecurities, and enabling everyone involved to help our environment by supporting a reduction in food waste. We open twice a week - Monday mornings 9.30am - 11am and Thursday evenings 5pm - 7pm and offer a varied menu determined each week by the donations we receive. We are not discriminatory or judgemental in any way and understand that families and individuals all have different circumstances which finds them having food insecurities; and so we ask our customers to 'pay as they feel' for the food they chose to take. This is done anonymously, in that customers are given a blank envelope when they come in and are asked to contribute however much they can afford (if anything) for the food they receive into the envelope before placing it in a box with all other envelopes We gratefully accept donations of food from our community members and local businesses to help provide this service. We have a storeroom and electrical equipment to ensure we are able to effectively store our donations in a clean and ordered environment, adhering to food guidelines and with food safety being paramount. We highlight any foods which may contain ingredients which may cause food allergies and measure and record food temperatures for our fresh food, as well as monitoring sell by dates If we were to be successful with our application we would use the grant to support our sustainability i.e. help with running costs for our pantry, and for equipment needed to store and distribute food, and for costs associated with storing the food and operating the pantry twice a week, as well as buying any emergency food as well as any emergency food we would need to help support a customer

I am a support worker for Changing Lives and we house 51 males who are homeless, have money issues, substance misuse issues, and housing issues. We support these men daily and our aim is to move them on in to their own property. We believe that everyone deserves a safe home, a rewarding job and a life free from addiction or abuse. We also believe that, given the right support, anyone can change their life for the better. By focusing on someone’s strengths, potential and opportunities, we help around 14,000 people overcome their problems and live safe, successful, independent lives each year.