Catherine McKinnell, MP for Newcastle North, visited Sainsbury’s Gosforth last week (29th November), after being
invited to hear more about the store’s upcoming community activities.

Speaking to Sainsbury’s colleagues, she learnt about how the store supports their Local Charity Partner, ‘Peter Pan’, a social and recreational club in Gosforth for people with learning difficulties and mental health problems, and their local Food Donation Partner, ‘Betel of Britain’. The charity collects surplus food six times a week from the store, including bakery items and dried goods, which go towards feeding some of those who are homeless in our community.

Peter Pan was announced in June as the store’s Local Charity Partner, following customer votes in May. So far this year, the store has raised £1,700 through fundraising activities involving sponsored walks, an autumn fair and The Big Bike Ride. The store will also be raising funds across two national bag-packing weekends over the next two weeks, which will see over 600 Sainsbury’s stores raising funds for their Local Charity Partner.

Catherine also heard that the store is currently thanking local customers for their support to the Active Kids scheme. Since 2005 the scheme has donated £225,812 worth of equipment and experiences to nurseries, schools, scout and guide groups and sports clubs across Newcastle. The top collecting organisation in the city this year was Cragside Primary School, which collected 42,043 vouchers. As part of the Active Kids initiative, the store’s PR ambassador and Grocery Manager visited Broadway East First School for a food tasting class around the importance of healthy eating.

Local groups and residents will also have the opportunity to take part in Sing While You Shop, a carol singing event hosted in the Gosforth store on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th December. The activity is part of a nationwide carol singing charity fundraiser.

Catherine said:

“It was great to meet the team at Sainsbury’s Gosforth and hear about their upcoming plans to support the local community. In particular, I was interested to hear about their work with local charities like Peter Pan, and the Active Kids scheme which is helping children in Newcastle to achieve a healthy, active lifestyle.”

Store Manager, Harry Brown, said:

“Sainsbury’s prides itself on being a great place to work and we were proud to show Catherine how active we are in the local community”.