As the world faces an unprecedented challenge with the global COVID-19 pandemic, the most vulnerable Londoners such as the elderly are at the highest risk and have been advised to stay at home for the foreseeable future, thus increasing their risk of food insecurity. We are adapting the operations of our weekly community meals to meet the increased need for hot food and fruit and veg parcels, and plan to deliver these essential items to those in our community who need it most.
With supermarkets facing shortages due to panic-buying, many at risk Londoners may struggle to find or afford healthy fruit and veg during the Coronavirus outbreak. Our weekly community meals feed up to 250 vulnerable people per week, but due to the need to social distance and reduce the spread of the virus, we are adapting our operations to provide hot food and fruit and veg parcel deliveries instead, ensuring that our community does not lose access at this critical time.
This funding will allow us to purchase the essential supplies to help us reach the most vulnerable populations within our community who have been advised to stay at home, including the elderly, those with chronic illnesses, and those who are disabled. This will allow us to recruit volunteers to deliver food, purchase the necessary supplies, including extra cleaning supplies, takeaway containers and bags, as well as any additional food that we might need to meet extra demand.
It is not clear how long this crisis will last, but we hope that this will allow us to continue and potentially expand our operations to ensure that those who are at the highest risk in our community can continue to access healthy hot meals.
