Huge new Sunderland B&M store backs city's food bank

The firm announced earlier this month that its Pallion retail park store will close this weekend and move to new bigger premises nearby.

The firm is set to relocate its Sunderland store to a significantly bigger and better site in the former Dunelm premises just a short walk away, creating more than 30 jobs in the process.

The existing store at Pallion Retail Park will shut its tills for the final time this Saturday, January 30, but, customers will not have to wait long to get back in store as the new branch will open its doors just a week later on Saturday, February 6.

The new store will be almost double the size of the current outlet, with more than 33,000 sq. ft. of sales space, and offering an even bigger selection of great bargains from grocery, toiletries and health & beauty to toys, homeware and DIY, plus a brand new garden centre.

Staff at the store were asked to nominate a local charity they believe deserved to be recognised for the work it does with the local community and chose to support the team from Sunderland Foodbank to take centre stage at the store opening.

Sunderland Food Bank is part of a nationwide network of food banks, supported by the Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK. The charity provides three-day nutritionally balanced emergency food and support for individuals and families across Sunderland.

In addition to opening the store, the team will also receive £250 worth of B&M vouchers which will go towards helping them to continue their valuable work.

A spokesman said: “Sunderland Food Bank really stood out for us so we wanted to give them some VIP treatment as a thank you for all the hard work that they have done, especially during the pandemic. We hope that our donation can help them to continue the great work.”

“Our colleagues have been working really hard to get the store ready for opening day, we can’t wait to get the doors open next week and show customers their brand new B&M store.”

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