Restaurants, shops and cafes across Glasgow are being asked to donate their waste food.
A lifeline service is making the call to help feed vulnerable people in Glasgow affected by the coronavirus.
Wheatley Group's Eat Well service provides emergency food parcels to vulnerable tenants in Glasgow.
The service has been extended to support customers who are self-isolating and have a limited support network.
The housing and care group is appealing to restaurants, cafes and other food outlets that have closed during the crisis.
It is asking businesses with bulk quantities of foods which would otherwise go to waste to help support its tenants.
The service is available to residents of GHA, Cube and Loretto Housing in Glasgow and can be a real lifeline.
'Appreciate'
Around 500 emergency parcels are delivered every week.
GHA tenant, and army veteran, Joe Stevenson, 92, from Cardonald, said: “I can’t leave the house so the food parcels are a big help to me. I really appreciate it.
“It shows GHA really cares and that they are really looking out for us. I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Eat Well relies heavily on surplus stock from supermarkets, which have themselves been struggling to fill shelves.
With less supermarket surplus available, and increasing demand for the Eat Well service, Wheatley is now appealing to businesses to donate spare food to help.
They are particularly looking for fresh or tinned goods, cheese, milk, bread and butter.
Wheatley Group’s Pauline Thomson said: “We are doing everything we can to support our most vulnerable customers during this difficult time.
“Our Eat Well service is a lifeline to people who have nowhere else to turn.
“We hope that any business which has spare food – cafes, restaurants, distributors – will think of donating to us to support the people who most need our help.”
'We hope that any business which has spare food – cafes, restaurants, distributors – will think of donating to us to support the people who most need our help.Pauline Thompson
Wheatley staff will be able to travel to pick up any items, and all health and safety guidelines are in place for all pick-ups as well as deliveries to tenants’ homes.
Any food received can be kept in storage, but is more likely to be delivered on the same day it is received, given the high level of demand.
To help with donations to Eat Well, or for more information, phone 0141 274 8608 or email pauline.thomson@gha.org.uk or harry.mckerlie@gha.org.uk
Any tenant at GHA, Cube or Loretto Housing who needs help to put food on the table should contact their housing officer by phone or email.
Wheatley recently announced plans to make up to 300 empty homes available to local authorities as temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.
