The Bread and Butter Thing opens three new food hubs in North Tyneside

North Tyneside has welcomed three new The Bread-and-Butter Thing hubs as the service expands across the borough.

Shiremoor, Fordley and Longbenton have all benefited from the addition of the affordable food service into the community in recent months, where residents can access roughly £35 worth of food each week for just £7.50.

The award-winning organisation first brought its innovative service to North Tyneside in April this year when it opened at the Family Gateway’s Howdon Community Hub, with around 600 residents now signed up to receive weekly shopping from the hub.

With no sign-up criteria, residents across the borough can use the service without needing to be referred, and the success of its roll out means that almost 1400 residents are using the hubs each week to help reduce their food bills.

The food hubs are run from locations in the communities including:

Longbenton Community Centre every Tuesday from 2.00pm
Shiremoor Adventure Play Park every Wednesday from 1.30pm
Fordley Primary School every Thursday from 1.45pm
Howdon Family Gateway every Friday from 1.30pm

Hundreds of families are set to benefit from the introduction of the new hubs as they expand access to affordable food across North Tyneside by offering weekly groceries for a fraction of high street prices. Options vary to suit each household, with a £4 package available for individuals and a £15 package for larger families.

The food available varies weekly and includes fresh fruit and vegetables, chilled food, and cupboard staples. Not only is the food available at such low cost, but it is also environmentally positive as it redistributes large quantities of perfectly good food that would have otherwise gone to waste.

Cllr Karen Clark, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing at North Tyneside Council, said: “As a council we’re proud to be funding and supporting brilliant initiatives like The Bread and Butter Thing to support our residents in North Tyneside. It adds value to the existing range of food support initiatives available across the borough and is helping us to widen access to nutritious and affordable food.

“It’s important for us to tackle inequalities across the borough and these hubs provide an affordable alternative to shopping in supermarkets while also offering invaluable wraparound support and advice.

“We know households in the borough are feeling the impact of the rising costs of living and this service helps to put money back in residents’ pockets to help their budgets to stretch further, something that will help hundreds of struggling families.”

Mark Game, The Bread and Butter Thing CEO added: “Our work has a positive impact in low income communities by reducing stress around food and enabling families to eat healthily and affordably. But we can’t ignore the fact that the rising cost of living is driving demand for our affordable scheme at an unprecedented rate with more than double the number of new families registering each month as members compared to last year.

“Working in conjunction with North Tyneside Council and local community partners allows us to spread our service even further and support more people who need it.

“Our members tell us that over 80% of them have previously had to skip meals to feed their families. By using TBBT, most save over £25 a week on their food budgets with the added benefits of better quality and a bigger variety of food. This leads to healthier lifestyles and puts money back in people’s pockets.”

North Tyneside Council has funded the initiative through its Poverty Intervention Fund which aims to reduce the impacts of poverty on families and individuals.

Each hub runs once a week and there’s no subscription required. To sign up, residents should text 07860063304 with their full name, postcode, and the name of the hub they’ll be collecting from e.g., Shiremoor. Each week ’members receive a text to see if they want to order. To book an order they should reply ‘YES’ by 10am the following day.