Published: 07 April 2020
From: Business and economy
Local businesses in ºù«ÍÞapp have come together to provide vital support to ºù«ÍÞapp Borough Council’s community food supply aid efforts.
Late last week, Councillor Peter Lamb, with the help of BBC Sussex, Steve Sawyer from Manor Royal BID and Reverend Steve Burston from St John’s Church, sent out a call for help from businesses who were able to assist with the coordination of a distribution centre by providing access to fork lift vehicles, pallet trucks and by donating supplies of cardboard boxes and food, as well as offering staff time.
A number of businesses responded, including:
- Gatwick Forklifts – 12 pallet trucks, vans and an arctic lorry
- Viridor – forklift, skips and pallet trucks
- Transvalair – forklifts, pallet trucks and distribution vehicles
- Tesco.com – supply of cardboard boxes
- DHL – cardboard boxes
- M&S Food Hall, Acorn Retail Park – cardboard boxes and surplus food
- Higgidy Ltd – cardboard boxes
- UK Harvest – 50 crates of fresh fruit and vegetables
- Gatwick Handling – forklift and pallet trucks and picked up the goods from Aldi
- Sussex Camper Vans – van for cardboard box delivery
The council is very grateful to the local ALDI store in Acorn Retail Park, with whom it has partnered to provide basic and essential food supplies for the town’s most vulnerable residents.
Managed council staff and contractors, the distribution hub will receive and manage food and other essential items from suppliers, action requests from the Help Hub team, pick and pack items and deliver parcels directly to people in their homes.
The Help Hub is a single point of contact for vulnerable residents, connecting them with help from council teams or the wide range of voluntary and charitable activity in the town. They will also support community pharmacies to directly deliver medical supplies where needed and call our most vulnerable residents to check on them.
I am extremely grateful for the support of all the local businesses, who have donated their time and resources in assisting us in setting up the distribution hub.
It is vital we that we support our most vulnerable residents during this difficult time and the distribution hub will ensure they can stay safe inside their homes and have access to the supplies they need.
Councillor Peter Lamb
Leader of the Council
ºù«ÍÞapp Borough Council
It’s never been more important for us to pull together as a town. The council are doing a great job supporting our most vulnerable and it was brilliant to see how willingly Manor Royal companies stepped up when called on for help.
Steve Sawyer
Executive Director
Manor Royal Business District
We are in strange and trying times, but the way businesses and volunteers from charities and ºù«ÍÞapp Borough Council have joined together so quickly has been a great example of how our local community comes together to love our neighbours – we will need that love in coming weeks.
Thank you to Dan at Sussex Camper Vans for the use of a van, to our #LoveYourNeighbour volunteers who picked up the boxes, to James at Higgidy Ltd for thousands of boxes and for the amazing ºù«ÍÞapp Borough Team at K2 ºù«ÍÞapp.
Reverend Steve Burston
St John’s Church
If you are vulnerable and need assistance, please call 01293 438000 between 8.30am-5pm. Alternatively, you can email or complete an .
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