New mobile food hub supports residents in Newark

This week a new community food initiative supporting local residents was launched at Cleveland Square Community Centre in Newark, hosted by Newark and Sherwood District Council and in partnership with The Bread and Butter Thing.

To join the scheme, residents must become a member by visiting The Bread and Butter Thing website or by texting 07860 063 304 with a full name, postcode, and the name of the hub, Cleveland Square. It’s free to sign up as a member and there’s no joining criteria.

The Bread and Butter Thing (TBBT) is a mobile food club making life more affordable for people on low incomes and helping to reduce food waste across the country. It works in partnership with supermarkets, factories and farms to redistribute surplus food. This food would otherwise go to waste because it’s wrongly labelled or there is simply too much of it.

Newark and Sherwood District Council is providing the Cleveland Square Community Centre free of charge as a venue to host the food hub. Staff members from the District Council’s Health Improvement and Community Development teams undertook training from TBBT alongside a number of local volunteers who will support the weekly club.

Councillor Tim Wendels, Portfolio Holder for Homes and Health at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “Food charities like The Bread and Butter Thing play a key role in our communities, helping families to access affordable and healthy food.

“It’s a great initiative that will support local people especially as households face financial pressure due to high energy bills and rising food costs. Already we have several amazing food hubs doing wonderful things in our communities and supporting those that are facing cost of living challenges.

“The addition of this food hub service will help strengthen the support on offer in the district for those who need it most. Thank you to all of the volunteers who attended this week and who continue to do a great job across our district.”

Mark Game, CEO at The Bread and Butter Thing said: “We are really delighted to have received such a warm welcome in Newark. Our new Cleveland Square volunteers did a fantastic job in organising and packing bags of food for 80 local families this week. There was a lovely sense of community spirit, and we had great feedback from everyone on the day. We’re looking forward to next week and getting to know everyone locally over the coming months.”

A full list of food hubs across Newark and Sherwood can be found on the District Council website.