Emergency Food Parcels

Emergency Food Parcels

In response to COVID-19 we set up an Emergency Food Parcel Service in a matter of days to ensure people who were shielding at home were provided with food and essential items. Our two Health and Positive Living Hubs were swiftly repurposed as donation and distribution hubs. This service quickly became a large operation, delivering 600 parcels a week. And with the help of Camden Council we have now delivered over 5,000 emergency parcels to vulnerable older people. We’ve received such positive feedback about this service; it has been a lifeline to older Camden residents and it is to the staff at both Hub’s credit that we have been able to support so many through this challenging time. 

We’ve also had heartfelt support from local school children who have been writing beautiful letters to their older neighbours to be included in our food parcels. These have been so warmly received and mean so much to older residents who are isolating alone with little to no contact from the outside world.

The Camden New Journal ran a story on our Emergency Food Parcel service

Coronavirus: Age UK delivers food packages to housebound

Camden Council and Age UK Camden will be piloting a service to deliver 600 food packages a week to Camden residents who are housebound and are not able to purchase food.

This pilot will help residents approaching a food crisis – when there’s two days’ worth of food at home or less – to access food.

The emergency package will contain milk, bread, butter, eggs, biscuits, tea, coffee, tinned food, cereal, toilet roll and soap, and will be available to residents who meet the above criteria, regardless of age.

Camden Council will support this by providing Age UK Camden with £20,000 funding, drivers and vehicles and an initial six Camden staff, redeployed form Camden’s libraries.

Nikki Morris, CEO at Age UK Camden, said “We are very pleased to be working with Camden Council to ensure those most in need receive essential everyday supplies during this crisis. Since mid-March, we have been providing emergency support packs to local older people experiencing a shortage of food and last week delivered 200 emergency food packages within 72 hours. There is a very real need for support in our community which can only be solved by effective partnerships.”