A North East foodbank is launching a new initiative to help struggling Newcastle communities cope with the eye-watering cost of food shopping.
The Newcastle West End Foodbank recently opened its first pantry – a shop where members can pay £5 per visit to get around £20 worth of items. The co-operative scheme has been running on a Tuesday morning at the Blakelaw Community Centre since April, with the aim of preventing more residents from falling into food poverty as the cost of living crisis continues to bite, and there are now plans to take it across the city.
While latest figures have shown that the food prices are rising at a slower speed, food inflation was still at 14.6% in June and supermarket bosses have come under pressure to pass on savings to customers.
