North East Amazon employees volunteer at local foodbanks

18 team members from the Gateshead and the Stock-on-Tees fulfilment centres volunteered at Newcastle Foodbank and Billingham and Stockton Foodbank. During the volunteering activity, they organised donations, made food and toiletry parcels and served people using the foodbank.

The foodbanks, which are part of the nationwide network of foodbanks supported by The Trussell Trust, provide three days’ worth of emergency food supplies and support to people in need.

Dan Stewart, Site Leader at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Gateshead, said: “We are pleased to offer our assistance to Newcastle Foodbank as it’s a wonderful organisation, and everyone involved makes such a difference to people in need.”

Flora Aliyu, who works at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Stockton-on-Tees and volunteered at Billingham and Stockton Foodbank, added:

“We had a great time at Billingham and Stockton Foodbank. It was so rewarding to learn more about the foodbank, lend a helping hand and meet the volunteers who do so much for local residents. We were so glad that we could show our appreciation to the team and contribute to our community.”

Gemma Whaley, Deputy Chief Executive at Newcastle Foodbank said: “Demand for additional support to cope with food insecurity is higher than ever. Last year, we distributed 337 tonnes of food. Fortunately, we have an amazing support network and the help from people like the team at Amazon ensures that we can continue to support those who need us.”

Amazon supports the communities where it operates and has delivered free computer science and STEM education programmes to more than 700,000 students across the UK through Amazon Future Engineer.

Amazon helps community organisations transport meals and other essentials to families in need through its pro bono logistics programme, Amazon Local Good, including more than seven million healthy breakfasts to children at risk of hunger in partnership with Magic Breakfast. And through its Multibank initiative, co-founded with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Amazon has supported more than 200,000 families experiencing poverty, with the donation of more than 2 million surplus essential goods.

Amazon partners with Comic Relief to help people tackle poverty and is the official home of the charity’s iconic Red Nose. Together with its employees, customers, and partners, Amazon has raised over £4.8 million to fund projects that support people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and tackle issues such as homelessness, mental health problems, and food insecurity across the UK, and around the world.