Volunteers from Newcastle’s The People’s Kitchen have teamed up with Newcastle NE1 staff to tidy up some of the streets around the city.
Seven volunteers from The Kitchen donned high viz vests and grabbed litter pickers to tackle the growing problem of litter on the city’s streets. The initiative, supported by Newcastle NE1, was part of Keep Britain Tidy’s 2022 Great British Spring Clean which encourages everyone to fill a bag with rubbish.
Volunteer Morris Adamson who in his day job runs Rothbury Family Butchers has been with the People’s Kitchen for almost five years. He wanted to take part in the street clean-up to send a clear message to those dropping litter on the streets.
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He said: “I do hope that the people who saw us all working hard to pick up litter will think twice before dropping rubbish themselves. It takes nothing to pop your rubbish in the nearest bin but it was a big effort for us all to fill the bags.
“I’m really proud of both my village and Newcastle and spending an hour or two cleaning up the streets was very worthwhile.”
Jackie Boardman, a Trustee at The Kitchen, was pleased with the number of volunteers which included several 'friends' who regularly use the facilities provided by the charity.
“We were tasked with cleaning up an area in the vicinity of The Kitchen around Bath Lane and Black Friars. We were all given safety briefings and risk assessments before going out to pick up the litter.
"We rely on our volunteers' time to help run what we do and it was fantastic that some of our volunteers and friends gave up even more of their time to make the streets of Newcastle cleaner for the benefit of others.”
The People’s Kitchen runs on voluntary donations and receives no funding from the Government to carry out its work. The Kitchen relies on donations from individuals, organisations, and businesses to maintain the level of support it gives to the vulnerable people of Newcastle and its surrounding towns.
Its volunteers have supported people in Newcastle for more than 35 years serving up to 200 meals every session, cooking everything from scratch.
Anyone wishing to donate can do so at www.peopleskitchen.co.uk/donate
Do you take part in any litter picking in your area? Let us know in the comments below.
