Washington Community Food Project Helped By Manufacturer Zentia And Installer

The Washington Community Food Project (WCFP) shopfront A charity that provides emergency food parcels to people in need is expanding its operations with a little help with leading UK ceiling systems manufacturer Zentia and one of its installation contractors.

The Washington Community Food Project (WCFP), a food bank covering the whole of Washington and Springwell, Tyne and Wear, had taken on a second retail unit in The Galleries shopping centre in Washington, less than 10 miles from Zentia’s head office and production facilities in Gateshead.

The unit, one of now five operated by the charity, required a full refurbishment… which is where Zentia and specialist sub‑contractor Commercial and Industrial Interiors, who are based in Prudhoe, Northumberland, stepped in.

Zentia provided 100m2 of its popular Dune Supreme dB tiles free of charge through the Dunston, Tyne and Wear branch of distributor SIG interiors, and Commercial and Industrial Interiors installed the 600mm x 600mm mineral tiles on the same understanding, over two to three weeks.

The 19mm-thick Dune Supreme dB tiles perform to Sound Absorption Class D, are manufactured from 39% recycled content, and feature light reflectance of 84% and humidity resistance of 95%.



Commercial and Industrial Interiors MD John Dunnage explained they had been approached by a volunteer at the WCFP.

“We have a lot of customers in the Sunderland area and I decided this was a very deserving charity which could ill afford a £30,000 to £40,000 fit-out cost. So, I decided to approach my supplier network and see what I could do to help.

“The reply from almost all of our suppliers was very positive so we decided to carry out the project free of charge and pick up the bill for whatever our suppliers could not cover. So, all of the money the charity would have spent on the project is going to serve the Sunderland community. I am very proud of the way our suppliers and trades bought into this project.”

Before and After

Inside the WCFP, before and after the refurbishment

WCFP secretary Maureen Bowman said: “I cannot express the enormous thank you for all the work and materials that have been supplied for Unit L. You have all done a wonderful job allowing us to continue supporting people in Washington and Springwell with our work as a food bank.”

Zentia’s head of marketing Craig Dodsworth said: “We were delighted to be able to help one of our installation contractors with such a worthwhile local cause.”

To donate to the WCFP, please visit http://wcfp.org.uk/donate/.