June 2025

Our partnership providing financial support to charitable groups feeding communities in need has been extended.

We will continue to work with The Cumberland Building Society through 2025-26, receiving another six-figure donation to share with our members across Cumbria and parts of Lancashire.

Now in its third year, The Cumberland’s Kinder Kind of Kitchens initiative has provided £473,000 worth of funding and additional equipment to 59 groups across the two counties since 2023.

The latest £175,000 donation comes as The Cumberland Building Society celebrates its 175th anniversary in 2025.

We will receive £158,000 as we deliver FareShare Lancashire & Cumbria, with a further £17,000 being given to FareShare Glasgow & West of Scotland, managed by the charity Move On.

The money will be shared out between member groups working in communities served by The Cumberland’s branches; across the whole of Cumbria, Lancaster and Preston in Lancashire, and in the Scottish Borders. Member groups in these communities will continue to have their membership fees covered by The Cumberland.

Naomi Winter, Community Partnerships & Volunteering Manager for our Food Redistribution Centre, said: “We’re so pleased to be renewing this partnership. It’s already helped us to create a massive amount of impact, getting food out to even more groups and creating savings for our members.
“It’s been great to work with The Cumberland’s teams over the last few years – we can see their enthusiasm for helping communities.
“Our members are really grateful too. Having their membership costs covered frees up some of their finances, which we know can be increasingly hard to come by. This means that even in the face of rising demand, they can sustain and even expand their work.
“The Cumberland partnered with us in a bid to help tackle the challenge of food poverty. We wouldn’t be able to do that without our members, though – we’re all so grateful for the work they do.”

As well as the financial donation, many members groups have also received donations of kitchen equipment funded by the building society – using new equipment to deliver cookery classes, add hot meals to your offering, or to gift to families in need.

Claire Deekes, Chief Customer Officer at The Cumberland, said of the donation: “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.”