A new fruit and vegetable stall has opened at the Freeman Hospital thanks to a joint partnership between the Trust and Newcastle Hospitals Charity.
Staff, patients and visitors can benefit from the readily available and easily accessible fresh produce at the stall which follows on from the outlet which is currently located at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI).
The stall at the RVI provides staff with easy access to a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables and dairy produce both during and after their working day. This has been particularly helpful during the recent lockdown period for COVID-19.
Replicating the facility at Freeman supports more colleagues to shop with ease, accessing great fresh produce to support their health and wellbeing.
Paula Coulson, Senior Nurse Nutrition and Hydration, said: “With the support of Newcastle Hospitals Charity, we are establishing a fruit and vegetable stall at the Freeman Hospital, having established one at the Royal Victoria Infirmary.
“My inspiration for the stalls followed a visit to Birmingham Hospital, seeing the positive impact their stall had on staff, visitors and patients. Staff commented on how great it was to have ease of access to a wide range of healthy snacks, taking fruit to meetings to share with colleagues rather than biscuits or cakes.
“The RVI stall has been extremely well received by staff and it will be great to have a stall at Freeman.”
The fruit and vegetable stalls support the vision of the Trust Food and Drink Strategy to provide healthier food for staff and visitors, linking with Public Health programmes such as Food Newcastle which is part of the national Sustainable Food Cities Network.
Paula added: “I am extremely grateful for the support of Newcastle Hospitals NHS Charity to help us to realise the Freeman stall, their support has been invaluable and it has been great working with them on this project.”
The Trust, in collaboration with Newcastle Hospitals Charity, received £15,000 funding from NHS Charities Together for the stall.
The initiative is part of a range of projects for which Newcastle Hospitals Charity has secured funding from NHS Charities Together for staff health and wellbeing, following public support for the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic.
