Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke has praised the impact of FareShare North East after the food charity opened a new distribution centre in the town.
The charity works with supermarkets and the wider food industry to get perfectly good to eat surplus food to local organisations.
Food is distributed each week from the Tees Food Hub on such a scale that the equivalent of 398,000 meals have already been delivered since April, benefiting over 6,500 individuals and their families.
Mayor Cooke said: “FareShare North East and Middlesbrough Environment City do incredibly worthwhile work that makes a real difference in our town.
“The FareShare network helps reduce food waste, cuts the amount that goes to landfill and supports people to reduce the amount of money they spend on feeding themselves and their families.
“It’s massively important at the moment and having the hub open here in Middlesbrough is really beneficial. It puts the planet and people first and I’m proud the Council can support it.”
FareShare North East chief executive Jake Hanmore also praised Middlesbrough Environment City for their support. MEC has a network of over 30 social supermarkets.
He said: “We know that opening a hub right here in Teesside is going to make a huge difference and we’re enormously grateful to all our partners who have helped bring this project to fruition.
“The new distribution centre brings us closer to the communities and the groups we’re supporting.”
Joe Dunne, senior projects manager at Middlesbrough Environment City, said: “Middlesbrough has a growing network of over 30 very active social supermarkets, that provide our diverse communities with access to affordable and healthy food, supplied by the Tees Food Hub.
“They’re extremely popular and promote dignity and reduce stigma while addressing specific needs around food insecurity.”
Middlesbrough Environment City and the Middlesbrough Food Partnership have worked with FareShare since 2019.
FareShare is generously supported by donations from the Teesside Charity.
For more information on FareShare North East, including how to donate and volunteer, visit its website.