Hungry Peterborough council staff raise thousands for good causes through tuck shop at new Fletton Quays offices

Cheques totalling £3,000 are being handed over to local good causes

The tuck shop at the council’s new offices at Sand Martin House in Fletton Quays is raising money for a different local charity each month.

Last week two cheques were written - £2,000 for the Safer Off the Streets partnership and £1,000 for Peterborough Foodbank.

Safer Off the Streets is a partnership of 19 organisations across the city - including Peterborough City Council - which supports rough sleepers in leaving the streets for good.

The money donated will help to keep the Garden House Day Shelter - run by The Light Project Peterborough - in the Peterborough Cathedral grounds open as a hub for rough sleepers to access services.

Christine Graham, chair of the Safer Off the Streets partnership, said: “This money will make a real difference. The Garden House Day Shelter is helping so many rough sleepers to get off the streets for good and into training and employment. This money will ensure it is able to keep going for longer.”

The Peterborough Food Bank provides three days of nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to the organisation in crisis. It is part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.

Sharon Keogh from Peterborough Foodbank said: “We are really grateful for this donation. Already this year there has been a sharp increase in the number of people in our city facing hunger and needing help from Peterborough Foodbank.

“At the moment we are particularly short of specific food items including pasta sauces, tinned meat, tinned fish and small packets of tea. This money will be used to ensure that we can continue to help people in crisis.”

The tuck shop at Sand Martin House is operated by Mohammed Jangher, young people’s worker for Peterborough City Council.

He launched the original tuck shop at Bayard Place in 2013 and moved this over to the new building in September 2018. Since its inception the tuck shop has raised a grand total of £15,000 which has all been donated to local charities.

Mohammed said: “The tuck shop was initially very small when it began and it’s just got more and more popular. We are delighted to have raised so much money for charities which have a connection to staff and the city.”

Gillian Beasley, chief executive at the council, said: “I’d like to thank Mohammed for raising so much money for charity for local good causes, while also providing a comprehensive range of snacks for our staff.”