Volunteers from a Queen’s Park charity have come together with local groups to help residents give their neighbours food parcels.
Salusbury World, which worked with refugee families prior to the lockdown, is linking up local initiatives to help the community.
Its Gift your Neighbour scheme is running twice a week to bring home cooked meals and other food items to anyone who needs it.
The scheme is supplying more than 100 gifts per session, but week on week donations and volunteers are growing.
Every Monday and Thursday donations and pick ups are made from Salusbury Primary School, in Salusbury Road, or the Maqam Centre in Kensal Rise.
Home-cooked meals are prepared and donated by volunteers at the Community Response Kitchen in Alperton, where there is currently a fundraising pledge to cook 200,000 meals in 100 days.
Sarah Reynolds, director of Salusbury World, stressed that the scheme is “not a replacement for food banks, but a supplement”.
Local businesses have been getting involved with the donations. Recently some of the carefully packaged gift bags included chocolate brownies and handmade gyoza dumplings.
The number of volunteers has reached 120 and includes teenagers who have come to help make collections and deliveries with their bikes.
During last Monday’s donation drive the team received a bag of tins and food from 100 year-old George Routley from Neasden, who said he “felt he already had everything”.
Charity trustee Giles Deards said he realised “there was quite a geographic gap” between the food services of Granville Community Kitchen, Carlton Vale, Ashford Place in Cricklewood, the Queen’s Park Community Hub, in Kilburn Lane, and Harlesden Foodbank, “especially with Brondesbury’s St Laurence’s Larder having to temporarily close” he added.
“The initiative is also a way to reach out to people to let them know help is there if they want it.
“We won’t feed a family for more than a day with a gift parcel, but we can help anyone get more substantial help whether from other neighbours, the mutual aid network, or from the Council,” he said.
Reach a neighbour in need by calling 020 8050 3875 or at qpmutualaid@gmail.com.
To donate visit gofundme.com/f/help-us-make-200000-meals-in-100-days
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