City Harvest, a London food surplus redistribution charity, has recorded an increase of nearly 14 tonnes of food donated per day following the Covid-19 outbreak and has launched a campaign to help with essential funding.
Based in Acton, City Harvest redistributes food to charities across London which in turn make nutritious food for vulnerable people.
The charity estimates that it usually receives 35 tonnes of food a week, however since 17 March, City Harvest has been receiving 20 tonnes of food a day.
Following the closure of the majority of London restaurants due to Covid-19, the amount of food that was donated to City Harvest increased to 23.5 tonnes on 24 March from 9.7 tonnes on 17 March, representing a rise of nearly 14 tonnes per day over a week.
Food donations were received from restaurants, caterers and companies such as Nandos, Hawksmoor, Lidgates, Facebook (from its onsite restaurants) and This, among its main suppliers which includes Innocent, Bookers and Fruitful Office.
On average, the charity has five volunteers to help per week, however due to the sudden influx of food they have been calling for more volunteers and now have 20 a day.
A volunteer’s role includes sorting through the pallets by their use by date and to then divide the food into categories. Over the past week the charity has also received more fresh food and drink.
The van drivers usually distribute 70 van loads of food per week, however this number has doubled per week.
According to the charity’s calculations, it has saved 110 tonnes of food in the last week and has helped to create 255,000 meals.
City Harvest has recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to ensure the charity can continue working and is urging people to donate, volunteer or contribute food.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024
