Partnership delivers food to citizens

Officers wrote to the national chain for help after it received calls from people with little food. 

The store on Shields Road, Byker, donated 10 boxes of food and four trays of bread which council staff immediately delivered to homes across the city. 

The mercy missions came after residents rang the council’s new helpline CityLife Line to say they were running low on food. The helpline which was set up last week has received over 300 requests for support – phone calls and online. About half relate to food – a mix of requests for food and requests for help with shopping.

In all, 5,589 people in the city with underlying health problems described as extremely vulnerable and asked to stay indoors by the Government were given the option of requesting food parcels from Government.

The council understands that everyone who registered for a food parcel should now have received one. 

On top of that the council also received a consignment of food which could be used to make up about 50 food parcels. We will use these to supplement the Government’s direct delivery system. 

About 10 council staff have been redeployed to work on food services, including senior officers, enforcement officers and parking services staff.  

An extra 28 food parcels have been made up and distributed to families and individuals by the council. 

The consignment of Government food the council received included, soup, beans, PG tips, oats, apples, Angel Delight, sweet and sour chicken ready meals, chicken tikka,  noodles,  juice,  digestive biscuits and Crunchies.

Leader of Newcastle City Council, Cllr Nick Forbes, said: “There is a massive effort across the city to ensure the most vulnerable receive food. 

“I would like to pay tribute to the supermarkets for their kind donations, and to the council staff and volunteers who are delivering food to homes. 

“I know there has been some comment about the quality of the food given by Government. While all food is welcome it’s important that people get nutritious food especially if they can’t get out and get exercise. 

“In these cases, we are doing our best to supplement the parcels with other foods so people can get a balanced diet - but we need more food.  

“The food banks, which are so important to so many across the city, are beginning to move to a delivery-based system so we have redeployed staff to help out. We are keen to hear from anyone who would like to make financial donations to the food banks.”

While the council cannot promise to help everyone, it will do its best through CityLife line to help alongside the voluntary sector to arrange shoppers while redeployed staff are coordinating the efforts of food banks and other food suppliers to the city’s most vulnerable.