Feeding Families is proud to announce a new partnership that will see us work alongside Gateshead Food Partnership and Green Heart NE CIC to scale the successful ‘Food Hub’ pilot across the region.
At Feeding Families, we know that lasting change happens through collaboration. By combining Green Heart’s innovation and groundwork with Feeding Families’ warehousing, purchasing power and logistics infrastructure, we can strengthen what already works and extend its reach to support even more organisations and families across the North East.
Building on 18 Months of Dedicated Work
For the past 18 months, Gateshead Food Partnership’s ‘Food Hub’ pilot has been run by Green Heart NE CIC. The Food Hub was designed to purchase food in bulk at wholesale prices and offer free delivery to small community projects — enabling them to stretch their funding and donations further.
Over that period, the pilot has supported more than 20 organisations across Gateshead with a cost-effective food-ordering system. It has also provided an ad hoc distribution service, redistributing free food and goods between organisations committed to reducing food waste in the North East, including REfUSE in Chester-le-Street and local Gateshead Olio collectors.
The work to establish a sustainable and practical model has required testing, adapting and refining different approaches to food supply. The success of the pilot reflects the significant time, energy and commitment invested by Green Heart and partners.
Scaling Through Collaboration
This next phase does not replace what has been built — it strengthens it.
By utilising Feeding Families’ existing warehousing and logistics operations, we can increase capacity, improve efficiency and support more community organisations, while continuing to prioritise cost reduction, partnership working and access to good, nutritious food.
Wayne Dobson, Chief Executive of Feeding Families, said:
“Feeding Families’ vision is, that through providing food to our partners it acts as the gateway to financial resilience and moves families and individuals from crisis relief to release from poverty and food insecurity. We are passionate about getting nutritious food into the hands of those who need it. By working together across the region, using Feeding Families scale in purchasing power, distribution and logistics we can support thousands of families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. We are thankful for the great foundation laid out by Green Heart and aim to build strongly on the shared vision of releasing people from food insecurity.”
Andy Redfern, founder of Green Heart NE CIC, added:
“Green Heart exists to be a safe space for innovative social and environmental justice initiatives to be tested and, where possible, scaled up. The success of the Food Hub, with the support of Gateshead Council, is largely due to adapting different approaches to food supply until a sustainable model was found. I am excited to see Feeding Families take this project forward allowing it to grow to the next level.”
What This Means for Current Users
For existing Food Hub users, very little will change in terms of how the service operates. The ordering process will remain familiar, with deliveries now supported through Feeding Families’ infrastructure as the project scales.
We want to place on record our sincere thanks to Andy, Mark and the Green Heart team for the work they have put into establishing and shaping the Food Hub into the impactful initiative it is today.
This partnership demonstrates what is possible when organisations share a common goal: reducing food insecurity, increasing resilience, minimising waste and ensuring that communities across the North East can access affordable, nutritious food.
Together, we are building on strong foundations — and taking the next step forward