Shop for less, reduce food waste, get advice & support, connect with your community…

Hop aboard our Key Community Bus! 

Get Help Donate

Key Homes

Key Wellbeing

Key Support

Key Prevention

Key to Life Foodbank

Key to Life Foodbank

Key to Life is a vast operation providing emergency food and support to people in crisis and championing hard-pressed local families.

About

Key founded and leads the partnership that delivers Key to Life, the longest running foodbank in South Tyneside, which plays a crucial role in supporting some of the most vulnerable within our community, one of the most deprived areas of the country.

Key was the first charity in South Tyneside to run a foodbank, when people from local churches began making food bags for young people in 1992. We now work in partnership with South Tyneside Churches Together to provide emergency food and support to anyone in the borough experiencing hardship.

Key to Life is open 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday, and is based at Boldon Lane Library with drop-off points around South Shields.

Follow Key to Life on Facebook

Pre-loved School Uniform Exchange

We offer a wide selection of uniform for primary and secondary schools throughout South Tyneside, plus coats, bags and shoes.

How to bag your FREE school uniform
We’ll need to know your child’s school & age/size of uniform items you’d like to request in order to help.

One of our friendly volunteers will check through our stock and get back to you asap NB this may take 1-2 weeks.

How to donate school uniform
Donations of outgrown uniform for South Tyneside schools, clean and in good condition, can be dropped off to our Boldon Lane HQ (NE34 0LZ) during our opening hours (10am-4pm, Mon to Fri).

 

Reduce, Reuse and Save Cash!

This long-established scheme provides families with free school uniform for their children, whatever their circumstances, and is a fantastic way for families to reduce, reuse and save cash

What we do

Key to Life’s Team Leader oversees a team of around 40 dedicated volunteers who field telephone enquiries, welcome people, and signpost to other services; sort and pack food parcels; collect donations from around the community and offer homebound delivery.

We make sure families experiencing hardship stay fed and entertained during the school holidays.

We provide families with free school uniform for their children, whatever their circumstances, through our long-running annual free uniform exchange.

We make Christmas special for families who may have little food in the house, and whose children might not otherwise receive a present, through our annual Christmas Appeal.

Get Help

From Monday 4 April 2022 we are no longer able to allow self-referrals to our food bank.

If you need an emergency food parcel, you can ask for a referral from an organisation that’s already supporting you (e.g., a charity, school, or children’s centre) as well as agencies such as the Welfare Support Service on 0191 424 6040, Citizens Advice on 0191 455 7958, or your GP.

Please click on the links for details of other available support with cost of living and welcoming spaces or winter health advice.

NB Our main Get Help page (top right) has links to a range of other local support services.

 

How you can help

Donate food

  • Drop-off urgently needed food items direct to us at Boldon Lane Library (postcode NE34 0LZ), open Mon-Fri 10-4, or to local supermarket donation points
  • Donate via our Amazon wishlist which is regularly updated to reflect our most pressing needs, items we’re running low on or have completely run out of. Simply click the link and add your chose items to the basket. During checkout, make sure to select ‘Askins Lodge’ as out Key to Life delivery address, manned 24 hours (not your own).
  • Host a food collection at your school, church, or business, if you can do so safely (we’ll collect if necessary)

Donate financially

Volunteer your time
We’re always on the look-out for more volunteers to join the team, if you’re interested:

Make big savings on your weekly shop

Jump aboard our Key Community Bus

"A huge thank you for your kindness and for those volunteers who make receiving parcels a pleasant experience, no judgement , welcoming and hugely understanding."

Key to Life Foodbank user

In partnership:

Become a volunteer

We are always on the lookout for more volunteers to join our team. If you are interested, please complete the form below:

"*" indicates required fields

Consent