The Cumberland is donating £175,000 to support food banks and projects helping communities in need – and £158,000 will be spent in Cumbria and Lancashire.
The six-figure donation means the building society has given a total of £675,000 to its Kinder Kind of Kitchen initiative since it began in 2023.
It’s been helping FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria and FareShare Glasgow and the west of Scotland support people to overcome the main challenge many face daily: food poverty.
As The Cumberland marks its 175th anniversary this year, it is donating another £175,000, of which FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria are receiving £158,000.
It launched its Kinder Kind of Kitchen initiative in June 2023, partnering with the charity FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria, operated by Recycling Lives Charity, which distributed the donation to its network of community food group members across the two counties.
Foodbanks in Cumbrian towns were seeing a 30% increase in demand, with a 75% increase in people using them in rural areas. Since The Cumberland became involved, hundreds of volunteers from 64 community groups have served hundreds of thousands of meals.
In 2023, additional funding from the building society provided fridges, freezers and chiller cabinets to members who needed them, and last year it provided kitchen equipment such as slow cookers and air fryers.
Claire Deekes, chief customer officer at The Cumberland, said: “It’s incredibly moving to see the impact local food projects are having across our communities, and we’re proud to support them for a third year with a £175,000 donation.
“Visiting the projects and meeting the volunteers gives us a real sense of how essential this support is – and how our funding is helping them continue, and in many cases expand, their work.
“Sadly, the need remains high, with more people than ever struggling to access the basics. That’s why we’ve chosen to continue our Kinder Kind of Kitchen initiative, reaching people who really need a helping of kindness.”
Brook Street Primary School in Carlisle is a beneficiary of the scheme, distributing Kinder Kitchen food packages from FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria to parents and families in need.
Headteacher Jonathan Bursnall said: “The support we get from both The Cumberland Building Society and FareShare is very much appreciated by the school and is vital to many of our families in making ends meet.
“The cost of living crisis has hit many of our families very hard and this support can make all the difference when times get tough. It is also an excellent way of reducing waste.”
