“Nourishing Communities. Inspiring Lives.”
On the eve of their 25th Anniversary in 2027, Hospitality & Hope has unveiled a brand-new identity, marking an important new chapter for the South Tyneside charity and reflecting how its work has evolved alongside the changing needs of local communities. The rebrand, is to better reflect who H&H are today, the breadth of their work and their future strategic direction, whilst remaining firmly focussed on their three key priorities: reducing food insecurity, improving community wellbeing and tackling homelessness.
The charity and South Tyneside Pledge signatory, previously best known for emergency food support, has evolved, into a broader community food and wellbeing charity delivering long term services centred around food. Their “Food Hubs” serve as “a meeting place, at the heart of the community” for all residents living within 1.5 miles of each Hub, regardless of being in work or out of work. H&H’s ambition is to use food as a medium to bring the whole community together ensuring everyone has access to fresh, nutritious food, to help them eat well, make better food choices, create more food independence and increase confidence and wellbeing, affecting real generational change.
Over one thousand households with active memberships across South Shields are already onboard. Two Food Hubs are located at Tyne Dock and Fowler Street with their flagship Food Hub located at Horsley Hill that includes a Food Academy. Additional benefits for all Food Hub members include free cooking skills workshops with ingredients provided across a range of food genres, alongside wellbeing activities that include arts and crafts, days out and book clubs. Members can also seek confidential benefits and debt advice, as well as digital access support. All of which together embody the Food Hub’s mantra of Meet. Shop.Eat.
Peter Maloney, Chief Executive Officer of Hospitality & Hope, said:
“The services offered by H&H have evolved and now our identity has too. We are moving from a reputation for solely helping those with a need for emergency food in the short term, to delivering food confidence and community wide food resilience for the long term. Food for today, skills for tomorrow. Our new simple expression of: Nourishing Communities. Inspiring Lives. captures that ambition.
“The change has been influenced by the voices of our community, who already use H&H’s services. We published the research ‘In Our Own Words’, which explored people’s experiences and the impact the charity has on their lives. The research highlighted themes including dignity, choice, belonging, relationships, confidence, connection and hope – principles that have increasingly shaped both the charity’s services and this future direction.
“Hospitality and Hopes Food Hubs aim to unite our wider community through the power of food. Our ambition is to no longer, simply help feed people in the short term, but with food at its core, bring together neighbourhoods for the long term. They have become a “meeting place at the heart of the community” providing low-cost nutritional food to all residents, in work and out of work, allowing them to shop with dignity & choice, within our Food Hub settings. Members can also connect with their fellow residents by participating in fun, free, food workshops as well as an extensive program of wellbeing activities, allowing them to make deep, personal connections by spending quality time with friends and family.”
Louise Lydon, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Hospitality & Hope added:
“H&H has a proud history of supporting people and communities across South Tyneside. As Trustees, our responsibility is to build on those strong foundations while ensuring the charity continues to evolve, remains resilient and is well positioned for the future.
“Nourishing Communities. Inspiring Lives. reflects that next chapter – strengthening the communities we are proud to be part of while creating opportunities for people to build more confident, connected and independent lives.
“Food has always been at the heart of what we do, and our desire is to build on this, to benefit the wider community, in the longer term. We believe our new identity reflects our future ambition as we continue to listen to what our community needs to thrive.”
That same focus on building confidence, skills and independence runs through H&H’s wider work. Through its Supported Housing, the charity provides people experiencing homelessness with a safe and stable place that they can call home for a time. Offering tailored support, H&H help their residents to rebuild their lives and work towards greater independence and a sustainable move into their own home.
This work reinforces the fact that “Nourishing Communities” is about much more than food – it is about strengthening communities through support, relationships, connection and opportunity. “Inspiring lives” is about recognising people’s strengths and helping them build confidence, stability and greater independence.”
Hospitality and Hope are officially launching their new identity across their venues on 15th October, and invite residents to visit and to explore their new look Food Hubs, and learn more about how H&H’s flagship community services can benefit them and their neighbours.
