Meet the people behind Sunderland Foodbank, together, our small but dedicated team and trustees are helping families across Sunderland find support, dignity, and renewed hope.
At Sunderland Foodbank, we are a small but passionate team committed to making sure no one in our community faces hunger alone. With the support of dedicated volunteers and guidance from our five Trustees, we work together to bring care, practical help, and hope to those who need it most.
OUR STAFF TEAM
OFFICE MANAGER
Lindsey Brown
Lindsey oversees the administration of the charity as a whole, ensuring it operates efficiently and to a high standard in line with organisational requirements and the expectations of the CEO and Trustees. As a key point of contact across DCP’s projects, she provides essential administrative support to help ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the organisation. She also manages the Community Shop’s online sales, helping to maximise income.
FOODBANK OPERATIONS MANAGER
Simone Green
Simone helps oversee our network of 35 foodbanks, working closely with local referrers to ensure people receive the support they need. She uses data to help plan and develop our services, builds strong relationships with local authorities and partners, and supports the day-to-day running of our warehouse through stock management, logistics, and coordinating corporate volunteering opportunities. Her organised and collaborative approach helps keep everything running smoothly.
WAREHOUSE DISTRIBUITON MANAGER
Jonathan Conlon
Jonathan oversees the day-to-day running of our warehouse. From coordinating food collections and managing stock to ensuring our warehouse runs safely and efficiently. Jonathan also works closely with our distribution centres to make sure they have the food and essential supplies they need, while maintaining accurate records, rotating stock, and ensuring nothing goes to waste.
FUNDRAISER AND CORPORATE LIAISON
Fiona Pallister
Fiona brings years of experience in building meaningful relationships and connecting people to create positive change within communities. She works closely with funders, businesses, and supporters to secure resources, develop strategic partnerships, and strengthen long-term engagement. Passionate about making a lasting impact, Fiona is committed to supporting the organisation’s sustainability and growth, helping to ensure it can continue making a real difference for the people and communities it serves.
FOODBANK DISTRIBUITON MANAGER
Helen Moss
Helen supports the smooth running of the Sunderland Foodbank network, delivering training to referral agents on the process for accessing food parcels, improving service accessibility, and promoting the availability of low-cost and affordable food hubs across the area. She supports community engagement by building relationships with local charities, voluntary organisations, and statutory authorities, ensuring strong partnership working. Through presentations to local community groups, she helps raise awareness of the foodbank and encourages donations to support our work.
ASSISTANT FOOD SUPPLY COORDINATOR
Stephen Bates
Steve is an important part of our warehouse team, helping to keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes. He helps support and organise our fantastic team of volunteers, assists with stock control, helps schedule daily van deliveries and collections, and provides valuable administrative and email support.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Caspin Jones
Caspin leads the organisation’s marketing and communications, helping to raise awareness of our work and encourage the vital donations that support the foodbank. She manages our social media, creates engaging content, and updates the website to ensure our messaging is clear, consistent, and reaches the wider community. Caspin also coordinates volunteer recruitment across Durham, overseeing onboarding, safeguarding, and administration.
FOODBANK REFERRALS ASSISTANT
Kelly Smith
Kelly is a member of the Referrals Team and is often one of the first people clients speak to when seeking support. She provides foodbank and fuel bank vouchers to people experiencing financial hardship. With a friendly, understanding, and compassionate approach, Kelly answers calls, provides information, and helps people access the services they need. She is passionate about helping people through difficult times and takes pride in offering a compassionate, welcoming service to everyone who contacts the foodbank.
FOODBANK REFERRALS ASSISTANT
Kim Myers
Coming Soon.
FOOD SUPPLY AND SHOP LOGISTICS ASSISTANT
Jacob Templeton
Jacob keeps our logistics running smoothly, coordinating the movement of stock between our warehouse, charity shop, and eBay operation. He also supports the foodbank warehouse by helping to monitor stock levels and identifying urgently needed food items. Always happy to lend a hand, Jacob plays an important role in keeping everything moving efficiently behind the scenes.
EQUIPMENT FACILITATOR
Ian Thompson
Ian helps keep the organisation running safely and efficiently by looking after the equipment and systems we rely on every day. Whether it’s making sure our equipment is safe, serviced, and ready to go, organising inspections, or swooping in to tackle IT hiccups, he’s always on hand to keep things running smoothly. Working closely with the warehouse team and external contractors, Ian helps ensure everything is compliant, well maintained, and fit for purpose.
OUR TRUSTEES
INTERIM CEO
Glenn Jones
Glenn is a Chartered Member of the Society for the Environment and Chartered Resource and Wastes Manager. He is a Company Director with interests in waste management, renewable energy and aerospace sectors. He is currently acting as interim CEO.
INTERIM CHAIR
Jennifer Sewel
Jennifer works at the University of Leeds, with executive responsibility for governance, legal and regulatory compliance. She previously worked at the University of Durham and in the legal and financial sectors. She is a member of St Nics Church in Durham.
TRUSTEE
Bill Sawyer
Bill is a chartered accountant who trained and worked with Price Waterhouse Cooper. He left PWC to become a partner at JN Straughan and Co until 2020 whereupon he sold the practice, semi retired, and became an active consultant to Murray and Lamb accountants based in Team Valley and Consett. Bill is an independent assessor to the CoE North East area which includes churches such as St Andrews and All Saints (where Bill has attended) and he has also overseen the auditing of DCP accounts for the best part of 10 years.
TRUSTEE
Maralina Ambelez
Maralina lives in Sunderland and is an experienced IT consultant with a career spanning over 30 years, primarily focused on providing services to large-scale enterprises in the financial services industry. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh and an MBA from Durham University.
TRUSTEE
Alan Shield
Alan previously worked as a Money Adviser with Citizens Advice in Stanley for almost 10 years and has recently retired after 12 years as a Debt Advice Worker with County Durham Money Advice Centre. He was also an elected member of Durham County Council for 16 years, serving as a Cabinet Member from 2021 to 2025. Alan continues to serve the community as a Trustee Board Member of Durham Christian Partnership (DCP), Citizens Advice County Durham (CACD), and Project Genesis Trust (PGT) in Consett.
