Food4Heroes deliver over 1,000 meals to local NHS workers

Food4Heroes - a not-for-profit organisation set up at the start of lockdown to deliver fresh and healthy meals to NHS and care workers across the UK - has delivered over 1,000 meals to local NHS staff.

Supporting local mental health workers at Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Food4Heroes has delivered 825 meals to Birch Hill Hospital and 450 to Royal Oldham Hospital since the start of lockdown.

Overall, the organisation delivers to 24 UK hospitals, serving around 25,000 meals each week produced by local catering companies, gastropubs, and restaurants who deliver fresh and nutritious, locally produced meals.

1,200 of these meals are provided to mental health workers at the Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, who provide community and mental health care to around 1.3 million people across six boroughs in Manchester, including Rochdale.

 

 

Food4Heroes co-founder, Amanda Guest, said: “Food4Heroes was set up at the start of lockdown after we came across a nurse in floods of tears after a long shift, utterly exhausted and unable to buy food. We know that frontline staff, and especially those working at mental health institutions, such as Pennine NHS Care Trust, have been under immense pressure during this time.

“With the help of our brilliant volunteers and incredibly generous public donations, we have provided workers at Birch Hill and Oldham with 1,275 tasty, nutritious meals. We have also been delighted to support local food businesses, keeping chefs cooking whilst restaurants are closed during the lockdown.

“We’ve now delivered 230,000 meals nationwide, which we are tremendously proud of.

“As the lockdown eases and pressure on the NHS subsides, we are now engaging with catering partners and volunteers to explore new ways we can extend the initiative to others in need.”

Caroline McCann, Associate Director, Mental Health and Learning Disability Services, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I would just like to pass on my sincere thanks and gratitude on behalf of all the NHS staff here in our borough who have been recipient of the kind gift of free meals from Food4Heroes.

"Our NHS staff have worked, and continue to work, tirelessly throughout this difficult period and I think that I speak for all of them when I say we feel humbled by the overwhelming support we have received from the general public and outside organisations such as Food4Heroes.”

Food4Heroes supply meals across a total of four sites which include Birch Hill Hospital, Rochdale, The Meadows in Stockport, The Oldham Wards at Royal Oldham Hospital, and Tameside wards at Tameside general hospital.

The organisation hit an impressive milestone on Wednesday 11 June 2020, delivering its 200,000th meal in the UK.

Several celebrity chefs, including Michael Caines MBE, and restaurants ranging from gastropubs to small caterers are involved, and over £300,000 has been raised by Food4Heroes, all of which goes directly to the suppliers to create the food.