News
There’s so much happening at H&H each and every month! Great work being done to help and support the community of South Tyneside, tackling food insecurity and homelessness, as well as branching into research, sustainability and participation projects. Click the link at the top of the page to sign up to our newsletter, which is sent straight to your inbox and tells you about just some of the lives we’re improving.
Here’s just a few examples of the amazing stories we’ve told and work we’ve done. If you feel inspired and want to join them or you have a story for us to share, then get in touch with us now! We’d love to add more to this page!
Nominated by the Community
April 2026
We’re delighted to have had several nominations at the #LoveSouthTyneside Award’s 2026, which takes place at South Shields Custom’s House in June.
Amongst the nominations were our Head of Housing & Support Teri Watson, as well as nominations for #TeamHandH in the categories of ‘Business Supporting The Community’ and ‘Heart of the Community’ – these awards are particularly special as the nominations come from the people of the Borough in which we work so hard to combat Homelessness & Hunger and we really appreciate that recognition. Good luck to everyone ahead of the ceremony.
Award Success in South Tyneside
April 2026
We were delighted, and just a little shocked, to recieve the award for Business in the Community at the 2026 Best of South Tyneside Awards.
This is an amazing honour which, as the trophy suggests, could not have been made possible without the Team at H&H; every single Volunteer, Contributor, Donor, Customer, Corporate Supporter, Community Champion, Staff Member, Trustee and member of the public which has contributed to this achievement. Thank you.
Horsley Hill Premier Food Donations
January 2026
Huge thanks to our friends (and neighbours) Horsley Hill Premier, whose customers nominated us for a donation of at least £200 of food to our crisis response.
Pictured here with Shop Coordinator Mark Patterson, is Jag Singh, Company Director, who delivered the donation to our Community Shop in Horsley Hill, before it was later taken to our Food Bank.
All donated food goes to our Crisis Response Foodbank and is NOT sold in our shops.
Gathering Place at the Heart of the Community
November 2025
Earlier this month, we were delighted to welcome BBC Radio Newcastle’s Gilly Hope to The Food Hub – All Things Food – to see our food activity space in action. Thank you for your visit. During her visit, Gilly was able to experience our kitchen facilities, and visit a “food hub & shop that’s relevant to all & sits at the heart of the community”
By providing this space, we aim to educate and create real generational change, help a community to develop new skills & experience inspirational education.
Our thanks also to Carol, Kate, Bev and the entire hub team for their passionate storytelling.
🎧 Listen in full now, on BBC Sounds
Sustainable Places Bronze Award
November 2025
South Tyneside has been awarded the Sustainable Food Places Bronze Award, with STOC Good Food proudly at the heart of this success, leading a borough-wide partnership to improve access to healthy, sustainable food for all.
STOC brings together South Tyneside Council, VCFSE partners including H&H, WHiST (Women’s Health in South Tyneside) and Apna Ghar Women’s Centre, alongside local businesses, volunteers and residents, to tackle food insecurity, reduce waste, champion local supply chains and embed good food in local policy and everyday practice.
Community-led projects such as the STOC Live Demo Kitchen at the ‘This is South Tyneside Festival’ – South Tyneside Events – have inspired families with healthy cooking, while wider STOC activity supports both emergency food provision and long-term change through the Sustainable Food Action Plan, helping to build a fairer, more resilient local food system.
As Sustainable Food Places Programme Manager Leon Ballin has highlighted, STOC is showing what’s possible when creative and committed people work together to make good food a defining feature of where they live – setting a benchmark for others across the UK.
Food Hub – All Things Food – Launched
September 2025
Thursday 18th September saw the Food Hub grand opening; with it’s main aims being to deliver a programme of FREE Cooking Courses & Demonstrations, helping to increase confidence and skills in making from scratch, healthy, nutritious low-cost meals in a fun, friendly and informal setting. It also provides residents access to low-cost nutritional, balanced home-style, ready-made foods.
The Hub was officially opened by Councillor Tracey Dixon, Leader of South Tyneside Council and Stella Matthewson, Mayoress of South Tyneside. The Hub is a shared vision alongside STOC, creating a more sustainable food system in South Tyneside and inspiring a good food movement.
South Shields FC Match Sponsorship
August 2025
In a first for our charity, we officially sponsored the opening match of local club South Shields FC’s 2025/26 Season against Marine AFC, allowing staff and service users to partake in a special VIP event and choosing the official Man of the Match.
A committed Corporate Supporter of H&H for many years, we recognise the incredible work SSFC do in promoting Community & Charity endevours.
We also recognise and acknowledge the important part that the team’s supporters have played in fundraising for our charity and the support we’ve been able to give supporters in turn over the past 20 years.
Supporting Trussell in Westminster
June 2025
We were proud to be in London today campaigning for change alongside Trussell and other charities such as The Bay Foodbank – campaigning towards a fairer system for everyone in the form of their. Essentials Guarantee.
The key goal of the Essentials Guarantee is to embed a “legal minimum” into Universal Credit, ensuring that the standard allowance at least covers the cost of essential items (food, utilities, household items).
The event brought together anti-poverty campaigners, people with lived experience of hardship, and food bank volunteers to demand urgent action from MPs.
Representing our charity was our Digital Manager Wayne Madden (pictured, right, with Trussell CEO Emma Revie), who spent the day at the Houses of Westminster speaking to MPs as part of the North East, Yorkshire and Humber contingent. The campaign was supported by Trussell, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, IFAN, Feeding Britain, Your Local Pantry, and The Salvation Army.
South Tyneside Food Summit
Shaping a Fair & Sustainable Food Future
2nd April 2025
The South Tyneside Food Summit brought together businesses, community leaders, local authority representatives, and passionate individuals to explore how we can build a better local food system. The event focused on four key themes: Inspiring a good food movement, tackling food poverty & ill health, food for the planet, and supporting the local food economy & procurement.
Attendees engaged in discussions, shared ideas, and made commitments to drive positive change across South Tyneside.
The day featured a mix of inspiring talks, interactive workshops, and a dynamic business panel discussion, highlighting the importance of collaboration in transforming our food system.
Sustainable Food Places Event
November 2024
The event in Westminster showcased the network’s 110+ food partnerships and their locally powered solutions to health inequalities, economic challenges, and the global climate crisis. Leaders from across the UK came together in solidarity to celebrate their achievements, demonstrate the resilience and ingenuity of their grassroots solutions, and emphasize how devolved governments could support their work through targeted funding, policies, and by integrating food partnerships within every local authority.
Representatives from the South Tyneside Open Collective for Good Food (STOC), South Tyneside’s food partnership, joined MPs and other local food leaders in the Houses of Parliament, urging major political parties to commit to action on the climate and cost-of-living crises. They highlighted the critical role of local food action and policy in driving meaningful change.
Selected Archived News & Events
At H&H, we’ve been working towards self reliance and independence for everyone in South Tyneside for over 20 years. That’s why we couldn’t possibly fit all our amazing events, achievements and stories on this one page.
In this section, you’ll find some of our selected news highlights for the past few years, chronicling just how far we’ve come and how much work remains to be done.
Launch of Fowler Street Community Shop
Feb 2024
With the help and support of South Tyneside Council, we launched our third Community Shop on Fowler St in South Shields on Feb 29th 2024.
Hospitality and Hope was one of ten organisations to receive funding which has been used to develop its network of community shops, providing healthy food at discounted prices.
Helping to officially launch the shop was Deputy Mayor Cllr Margaret Peacock with Deputy Mayoress Gladys Hobson with Peter Maloney from Hospitality and Hope and Cllr Paul Dean of South Tyneside Council. The new shop in Fowler Street completes the third phase of Hospitality and Hope’s three-year plan of work in partnership with the Council to break the cycle of reliance on foodbanks.
Funder Event
Feb 2024
In Feb 2024 we officially met with partners and investors from across the Community of South Tyneside to thank them and celebrate our charities history to that point. We showcased each of our departments and spoke about the exciting projects which have since come to fruition, all helping to support food insecurity and homelessness in South Tyneside. The event also served as a reintroduction for many longer term supporters as to the work, mantra and efforts of Hospitality & Hope in South Tyneside.
Relaunch of Free School Uniform & Charity Shop, Chichester
Jan 2024
South Tyneside charity Hospitality and Hope hosted the official relaunch of its Free School Uniform & Charity Shop, at Chichester in association with The Andrews Group (TAG).
The shop stocks a number of preloved items including children’s toys, shoes and clothing; as well as adults clothing. It also offers Free School Uniform items both branded and unbranded to support educational facilities across South Tyneside. located at 331-335 Laygate, South Shields, NE33 4JB. Next to Chichester Metro.
