Rochdale council are taking steps to improve the quality of the government food parcels for people most at risk from coronavirus after the first batch arrived in the borough.
The food boxes are for people who are being shielded from coronavirus and cannot leave their homes because severe health conditions leave them most vulnerable to the virus.
The government said the packages would contain essential food and household items such as pasta, fruit, tinned goods and biscuits, for those who need to self-isolate at home for 12 weeks but have no support network of family or friends to help them.
The parcels that arrived in the borough of Rochdale on Monday, 30 March 2020, however, contained tea bags, cordial, 1 apple, chocolate bars, dry noodles and gingerbread biscuits. There were also only 44 delivered, despite there being 129 people in the borough who are being shielded and have requested an emergency parcel. In other parts of the country the parcels have included ready meals and more nutritionally-balanced items.
To improve the quality of the parcels the council is adding extra items, including bread, milk and a selection of tinned meat and fruit. The council is currently contacting each of these shielded residents on the list to ask if they need additional help and support.
After seeing the parcels council leader Allen Brett is calling on the government to do more to improve the quality of what is being provided: “Everyone appreciates that this is an unprecedented situation but the parcels that have been provided were not of the quality we were expecting. Thankfully our council officers are able to source food locally and add them to the packs to ensure that those receiving them have a better choice of items.
“It’s not clear to me why people in some parts of the country are getting pre-prepared meals and our citizens are getting tea bags, biscuits and cordial. We were also 83 parcels short so we’ve had to create those ourselves, which we are doing. The people receiving these parcels are likely to be alone and quite possibly afraid so there must be a greater effort to provide them with everything they need to get through this. We are doing all that we can, I expect government to do the same.”
The improved parcels will be issued by council staff who are working around the clock to protect the most vulnerable. The council is already delivering much needed food parcels to other vulnerable and isolated residents who have requested assistance through our helpline. 4 hubs have been set up in each part of the borough, along with a dedicated phone line for anyone who needs support.
