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COMMUNITY FOOD PROVIDERS COME TOGETHER
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WIRRAL COUNCIL
Neo Community, North Birkenhead Development Trust
(The St. James Centre) and Gautby Road Play, Youth and
Community Centre, all members of the Feeding Birkenhead
Supporting Wirral initiative, came together before lockdown
to discuss ways to support their respective communities
which were identified to suffer food insecurity in this
uncertain time.
They are very proud to have forged partnerships with Wirral
Council, Food Bank and other community food providers to
make sure vulnerable residents don’t go hungry during the
COVID-19 situation.
Ema Wilkes, CEO of Neo Community said: "This partnership
is something special and the partnered organisations are very
proud of to be a part of. It is a very new approach to see a Local
Authority initiative co-ordinated by Community Lead charities
through centralising their efforts, resources and their bulk food
collection and distribution operations at a new Emergency Food
Hub, which has been managed by Wirral Council.
Wirral Council and community food providers have also
worked together to set up a fast and straightforward way for
people to report that they re at risk of going hungry and ensure
they can be supported quickly and preserve their dignity.
Ema continued: "The Emergency Support Food Hub had over
125,000 hampers go out across Wirral since the initiative
was started in March and will continue to support families
and individuals for as long as this level of support is required
borough wide with the backing of strong supply chain links
and donations from the community. There have been so many
generous businesses who have gifted much needed food and
cleaning supplies to the emergency support hub and individuals
still donating to food bank donation points across Wirral.
"Along with the food parcels the team have been working on
other ideas such as how to support the people and families
they already engage with and all the new faces referred to the
Emergency Food Hub. There was an excess of 4000 Easter eggs
distributed across the borough and amazing activity packs
curated by the team at Gautby Road Play, Youth and Community
Centre.
"40 afternoon teas were delivered to homes across Wirral for free
on VE day to show a sense of solidarity in these unprecedented
times. Other Feeding Birkenhead Supporting Wirral partners,
local businesses and organisations have offered garden games,
craft packs and lots of online sessions ranging from cooking
skills, meditation, story reading which have been seen region
wide.
“Through this pandemic we have really been able to pull together
share resources in a scale we have never seen before and show
the best of what we have to offer, the offers of volunteering and
donating have hit record numbers, which has been something
really special to see. I am very proud that myself and my team at
Neo Community have been able to play a small part in a massive
collaboration and supportive effort for Wirral. We’ve all been
empowered by the support we have received from the Council."
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