Kinder Kind of Kitchen 2025-26

Headteacher Jonathan Bursnall said: "The support we get from both The Cumberland Building Society and FareShare is very much appreciated by the school and is vital to many of our families in making ends meet.

“The cost of living crisis has hit many of our families very hard and this support can make all the difference when times get tough. It is also an excellent way of reducing waste."

"You think the Lakes is such a lovely place to live but when you see these old mining communities, there’s quite a bit of deprivation. It’s not all millionaires in houses overlooking the hills,” he said.

"In an ideal world we shouldn’t need food banks but unfortunately, they’re a necessity. I feel like I make a difference and I’m doing something positive.”

She said: “I heard about FareShare getting food to people who need it and knew it benefited people in my area, so I applied and I’ve been volunteering since 2019.
“It’s nice to meet the people taking the food, taking it to schools or making meals for the homeless.

“Knowing that I am helping people is the best bit. I’ve made a lot of friends too. Everyone’s so friendly.

“It’s nice to see [other volunteers] progress too; to see them come out of their shell. I love it here, and the difference that the Kinder Kind of Kitchen initiative makes.”

Since The Cumberland became involved, hundreds of volunteers from 64 community groups have served hundreds of thousands of meals.

This year, they have once again teamed up with FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland to distribute part of the funding to five groups in its network of frontline charities and community groups in Dumfries and Galloway.

Edith McGlasson works at Kate's Kitchen, a volunteer-run cafe based in Annan.

She said: “The Cumberland’s Kinder Kind of Kitchen initiative has been great.

“It has supported Kate's Kitchen by providing funding for additional meals and establishing a community relationship which allowed colleagues at The Cumberland to volunteer and assist us.”

"We couldn’t have got started without the support we’ve received from Recycling Lives Charity and The Cumberland,” she said.

“Ours was previously a mining and industrial area and I’d listened to lots of people saying how they missed the sense of community that used to be here. There’s no shop or pub in the village where we first started up, and food is a great way of getting a community spirit going.

“We set up in March 2024 and I’d heard The Cumberland could donate a fridge through FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria. Then we signed up for the Kinder Kind of Kitchen initiative and started to receive a huge variety of food.

“But then, quite unexpectedly, the village hall where we’d started up withdrew use of it to our group.

“Recycling Lives were incredibly supportive and enabled us to move, at speed, to a neighbouring village’s hall. So we were able to continue, and we’ve grown since then, too."

He works with children and young adults, most with disabilities, teaching them basic life skills such as making meals for which The Cumberland’s support has been invaluable.

He said: "We learned about the Cumberland’s Kinder Kind of Kitchen initiative where we get food delivered directly, and we've been part of the programme for about a year now. It's absolutely brilliant.

"Without The Cumberland's financial support, there's no way we would have been able to offer the service.

"It's opened a lot more doors for people in the community that probably wouldn't have accessed anything that we offer if it hadn't been for that funding from The Cumberland.
"It's a massive support throughout the whole of Cumbria, not just us."