Our community bus is easing financial pressure on South Tyneside residents

Key, a South Tyneside-based charity, has published new figures to show how important the Key Community Bus has become to residents across South Tyneside during the cost-of-living crisis.

The bus has been helping residents save money, eat more healthily and feel more connected to the community - all whole reducing the need for people to rely on foodbanks or emergency food parcels.

The bus, which operates as part of the national Feeding Britain network, aims to provide residents with low-cost but nutritious food, alongside a range of support services and community activities.

According to data from Key’s survey of South Tyneside residents:

• 64% are eating more fruit and vegetables.
• 73% feel more connected to the community.
• 63% have higher levels of wellbeing.
• 90% are able to afford to eat more balanced meals at home.

Of those surveyed, it was revealed that the Key Community Bus has helped South Tyneside residents to save £13.37 per visit on groceries.

Visit our newsletter page today and sign up for a great range of free emails featuring the borough’s biggest news and sport headlines

Marie Burnett, a Poverty Prevention Team Leader at Key, has welcomed the impact that the Key Community Bus is having across the South Tyneside area.

She said: “We have been determined to help our community in South Tyneside by creating a welcoming space that facilitates connections to others and to essential services, alongside providing crucial access to affordable, nutritious food and providing support to address any underlying causes of hardship or difficulty in life.

“We appeal to anyone in our community who is able to support this ongoing work, which is making a demonstrable difference in our area, as well as to residents who might feel they can benefit from our community bus, or other services who might like to hire our upper deck engagement space, to get in touch.”

Andrew Forsey OBE, Feeding Britain’s National Director, has stated that the figures from Key shows that the service is working to make a difference to the lives of the residents that it serves.

He added: “Affordable Food Clubs, such as pantries and social supermarkets, aim to provide dignity and choice for people who are struggling to put food on the table.

“These figures suggest that, as well as helping to meet this objective, the Clubs bring communities closer together and enable people to access the help that’s needed to get more money into their pockets.

“The Clubs make life more affordable, manageable, and enjoyable for people during tough times, and must form part of a strategy to end the mass dependence on emergency food parcels in our country.”

You can find out more about Key at: https://keycommunity.org.uk/.