COVID19 - SIX ways you can help

Approximately 10 million people in the UK do not have enough food to feed their household. The coronavirus pandemic has increased the number of food-insecure people due to work crisis and self-isolation. Moreover, foodbanks and community aid food programmes (e.g. food pantries, community fridges, cooking clubs) have been struggling to respond to the increased demand of food. The reason for this is that these programmes largely rely on surplus food from supermarkets – which has decreased due to panic buying. However, during the past few weeks, many initiatives have been promoted to help the increased number of people in need of food.

Morrison’s and Tesco’s announced they will donate over £15 million worth of food for food banks and community projects in the UK. Lidl said they will donate £100,000 to their community project partner “Neighbourly” to feed vulnerable people in communities. Furthermore, supermarkets often keep collection points at the exit, where you can leave pre-packaged food (tinned food, rice, pasta, tea) and essential non-food items (sanitary towels, toothpaste).

Supporting foodbanks is very important to ensure that vulnerable people can access foods that are easy to cook and store, such as tinned food and pasta. The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of foodbanks, and together they provide emergency food to support people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for foodbanks in the UK. In addition, some community charities use food donations from the public and supermarkets food surplus to prepare meals for people who are in self-isolation and vulnerable people who may not have the cooking knowledge and/or equipment to cook. Fare Share supports these charities by taking surplus food from supermarkets and distributing it to them. They have been increasing their service to ensure food can reach nearly 2,000 towns and cities in the UK.

The public has shown a great interest in helping vulnerable people and people in self- isolation, so many initiatives have been promoted to help foodbanks and other charity initiatives to increase their positive impact on people. Here there are 6 practical examples of ways you can help your community.

1. Foodbanks

The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of foodbanks, and together they provide emergency food to support people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for foodbanks in the UK.

Supermarkets often keep a collection point at the exit where you leave pre-packaged foods (pasta, rice, tea, biscuits) and essential non-food items (sanitary towels, shampoo) which will be donated to your local foodbank . Alternatively, you can buy these items and donate them directly to your local foodbank.

2. Online donations

There are many charities which you can support online with a small donation. Here are just a few:

- Fare Share re-distributes surplus food from supermarkets to charities who prepare meals for vulnerable people across the UK

- Dom’s Food Mission has partnered with the likes of Morrison’s, Marks & Spencer’s and Tescos, stopping tonnes of surplus foods hitting landfill each year feeding many people who would otherwise go without

- Social Bite distributes meals and essential toiletries across Scotland

- FoodCycle are currently re-distributing surplus food to vulnerable people across the UK

3. Volunteering

There are many lonely people due to self-isolation and social distancing. Volunteering as a befriender could be a great way to keep company (at a safe distance) to someone in your neighbourhood, by doing the grocery shop for them, calling them, and speaking about common interests or keeping in touch with emails. If you donate or prepare meals for people, remember to follow food safety and hygiene guidelines.

- If you live in London, Rumi’s Kitchen looks for befrienders and volunteers to do grocery shopping and deliver food at the doorstep of people in need.

- Age.UK offers online training for people willing to help their neighbourhood and provides you with easy ways to approach your neighbours and safety guidelines to follow to do so.

4. No to food waste

Use up all foods you have, by getting creative in the kitchen. Love Food Hate Waste has amazing tips for this. Additionally, you could use OLIO. This app connects you with people around you, so the surplus food can be shared and not thrown away – their COVID-19 guideline will give you tips on how to share food safely.

5.

Support your local businesses

Many local businesses have temporarily closed. However, if you want to support them during this hard time, check their social media. Many cafes, restaurants and shops do nationally deliveries (e.g. plants, coffee, handmade items) and offer the option of buying a gift card for yourself or gifted it to someone for later use.

6. #stayhome

NHS workers are doing their best to take care of us, so while we encourage you to #stayhometosavelives, we would like to share with you a couple of initiatives addressed to support the NHS:

- Fuel the Fight is committed to feed the NHS workers by also supporting local restaurants. So, showing your support with a small donation would be a win-win

- “Run for Heroes”: if you like to keep active, why not joining this social media campaign by running 5k, donating £5 for the NHS and nominating 5 of your mates to do the same? If you are up for a challenge, we would like to nominate you, remember to share your experience with #run5donate5nominate5.