Food delivery service supports women in crisis during COVID-19
Running a food delivery service is one of the many ways Nottingham Women’s Centre has supported local women through the Coronavirus crisis.
Rebi Gilby, Volunteer Coordinator, explains ...
At Nottingham Women’s Centre, we have been monitoring the issues impacting local women and supporting many facing crisis during lockdown. A common problem identified was a struggle to access food.
Before COVID-19, we collected surplus food from supermarkets to bring into the Welcome Space at the centre where it was enjoyed there or taken home. Since we had to close the building and had food still available, we looked at an alternative way to get it to the women of Nottingham.
We work with some women who don’t meet the criteria for food banks. However, circumstances change, money is tight, children are at home and access to food has become more complicated than ever. Some women have had to self-isolate for various reasons and can’t go shopping, and single mums are having to shop with their children in tow. We wanted to address these issues, so decided to set up a regular food delivery service to help women who were struggling across the city.
We did a call-out to our amazing volunteer team and asked if anyone who could drive was available to help with a food delivery service. These volunteer drivers collect the food from a member of staff’s home, where it has already been split into parcels (taking into consideration size of family and dietary requirements) and then leave them on the women’s doorsteps every Tuesday. We usually receive bakery goods and fruit and vegetables, but one week we were donated Peppa Pig cakes which were lovely to give to households with children!
We are getting some really positive feedback from the women receiving the food, with one saying, “We received it and are so happy for it, we’re having sandwiches in the garden this afternoon."
We currently collect from Tesco once a week and are planning to use other surplus food schemes so we can provide more for women and their families at this difficult time.
If you would like to help Nottingham Women’s Centre support local women through these tough times, you can click here to donate to their Crisis Fund. This helps provide women with necessities like phone credit, money for meter top up cards and grants for food or electrical goods.
To find out more about Nottingham Women’s Centre and the other support services it provides to local women, visit their website.
