Community Food Packages

Food is the ingredient that binds us all together. Food has been the heart of how we have supported our city during this trying time we have to feed the NHS, Homeless and community.

On the day of the lockdown announcement our catering team dropped off our remaining stock, to The Missionaries Of Charity on Seel St. Which helped to feed those in need. We wanted to ensure that the food wouldn't go to waste and do what we could for others at this difficult time. As we wanted to pave the way for showing goodwill and community spirit.

To thank the key workers for their bravery, hard work and determination. Blackburne House teamed up with The Scotch Beef Shop to give away 100 homemade hot meal. To keep key workers spirts high over the Easter weekend, and enable them to continue to give phenomenal care. Their resilience, selflessness and strength have inspired our organisation and the nation.

Our Bistro team have been working with the Bronte Centre to support families around the city centre to provide food packages. Due to the pandemic, The Bronte Centre was awarded funding to provide and deliver food parcels to vulnerable members of the community.

The community came together and volunteered distributed the parcels and during delivery enquired if there was anything else they needed for example shopping, obtaining prescriptions etc. The volunteers also provided their contact details so people were able to contact them if they were feeling lonely and just wanted somebody to chat to.

During the deliveries, the volunteers also enquired as to whether some people would require home-cooked food and they found there was a large demand for this.

So the Bronte Centre got in touch with us at Blackburne House, which was closed to the public during lockdown, to see if they could provide cooked food at cost for the community and our team was happy to help. This project lasted for 13 weeks and staff at Blackburne House cooked up to 180 meals per week. The food was paid for using funds provided by the Bronte Centre whilst Blackburne House provided this service free of charge with employee and utility costs being fully covered by them.

The parcels were distributed to the most vulnerable members of the community i.e. pensioners, people who were shielding through ill health and single-parent families.

The success of this project appears to shows what happens when the community come together.