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Bolton volunteers step forward to help make urgent food deliveries for schoolchildren
Over 150 volunteers from Bolton have come forward to help a local charity make food deliveries to families in need during lockdown.
The volunteer drivers will deliver lunch parcels to around 2,000 schoolchildren in the borough who would otherwise receive a free school meal. This will especially help parents who are unable to collect packed lunches or parcels from schools because they’re isolating.
The lunch parcels are being funded by Bolton Council with deliveries being co-ordinated by Bolton charity Urban Outreach with support from individuals and businesses within ‘The Bolton Family', including Bolton at Home.
Bolton Council's school catering service is currently providing a range of options for families - and has earned praise for the quality of its food parcels and packed lunches. The food parcels are being delivered every Monday from 18 January until the middle of February.
The Bolton Family is made up of public, private and voluntary organisations committed to working together to make the borough a strong, vibrant, and prosperous place.
Vanessa Barlow, Chair of The Bolton Family, said: “Once again Urban Outreach is at the forefront of helping to support some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
“We’re extremely grateful to the individuals, many from The Bolton Family, who have stepped forward to hand deliver these food parcels, with over 150 volunteers helping out. Our work will not stop when lockdown is over, and the schools return. We are committed to supporting our communities for the long-term.”
Dave Bagley, Chief Executive Officer of Urban Outreach, added: “Getting these vital supplies to the people in our communities who need them most is a major undertaking, and we could not do it without the support of local businesses and individuals who are willing to get involved and back us with their time and resources.
“I’m sure I speak for people across the town in offering a huge thank you to those volunteers and the businesses supporting them, including The Bolton Family and our other partners.”
The volunteer drivers supporting the deliveries are being provided with full PPE to make their deliveries and all food parcels have full delivery addresses and recipient names.
Throughout the pandemic, members of the Bolton Family have supported Urban Outreach in its food deliveries to people across the borough, including delivering almost 1,000 parcels in a single day at the height of the first wave of the pandemic.
Businesses interested in becoming members of the Bolton Family can contact Vanessa Barlow at Seddon via Vanessa.barlow@seddon.co.uk. Meanwhile individuals interested in registering as urgent response volunteers for future situations can contact Bolton CVS via www.boltoncvs.org.uk.
Pictured left to right are:
- Noel Sharpe, Deputy Group Chief Executive, Bolton at Home.
- Nicola Hodkinson, Director of Business Services, Seddon Construction.
- Dave Bagley, Chief Executive Officer, Urban Outreach.
You can read more about Bolton Council's support for families, on its website here: bit.ly/3bPfZxj.