County councillors provide Northumberland food projects with £4,000 windfall

Northern Soul Kitchen, the food waste initiative on West Street, and Berwick Food Bank, have received the cash.

Cllrs Catherine Seymour, Berwick North, and Gregah Roughead, Berwick West with Ord, are supporting the projects with their members’ small schemes fund run by Northumberland County Council.

Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the authority recently allowed each county councillor to request a one off maximum amount of £2,000 from their small schemes fund to assist a project which under normal circumstances may not normally meet the criteria.

The pair said: “With this one off discretion to the Members’ Small Scheme and following the successful cross-party and national cross-sector lobbying of Government for a u-turn on free school meal vouchers over the Christmas term holiday, we wanted to ensure that this funding was allocated before the deadline to support people in the Berwick area where needed.

“We allocated our funding to the food bank project run by Berwick Community Trust as they are doing invaluable work during these most difficult times and helping the most vulnerable people and families in our community now and through the festive period."

A Berwick Community Trust spokesman said: "We would like to thank Cllrs Seymour and Roughead for their support. This valued funding will enable us to continue to make a real difference to the lives of so many people in these difficult and trying times.”

If any support and advice is needed for residents via the Northumberland Communities Together Response Hub, they can be contacted on 01670 620 015 or email: [email protected]

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