Working with partners and supermarkets to ensure no one goes hungry

The Council’s Help Hub team is working closely with partners and local supermarkets to ensure no one goes hungry when its temporary food warehouse closes at the end of June.

During June the Help Hub will gradually decrease the quantities of food it delivers weekly to people in need in Blackburn with Darwen.

Alternative arrangements are being put in place now to ensure that everyone who has received support from the Help Hub can access food and drink, as the Coronavirus situation continues.

Sayyed Osman, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Director of Adult Services & Prevention, said:

For almost two months, our food warehouse has been delivering weekly food parcels and monthly household essentials parcels to people who contacted our Help Hub for support. We’ve supported over 1,800 households, and our team has delivered over 15,000 parcels in this time.

This was always intended to be a short term solution to help keep people safe as the UK went into lockdown suddenly in late March. The temporary lease on the warehouse we have been using for our food packing and distribution centre will run out at the end of June.

While we’ll continue to deliver to households that have no one else to support them in these difficult times until the end of June, we need to plan for the future as the situation with Coronavirus looks set to continue for months to come.

From the end of June, when the food warehouse closes, the Council’s Help Hub team will offer support to put people in touch with the local organisations who can best support them, depending on their individual needs.

Anyone who is currently ‘shielding’ due to a medical condition or who is self-isolating at home but who can afford to buy their own food and essentials will be offered help arranging deliveries from supermarkets and local shops.

Councillor Mohammed Khan, Leader of the Council, added:

We don’t want anyone to worry about accessing food. The Help Hub team is working very hard with some fantastic local partners to make arrangements for people to continue to receive support getting the supplies they need, as well as help and advice on finances, wellbeing and mental health.

This support will be available to people who have no family, friends or neighbours to help them at this difficult time. Anyone who thinks they will still need support accessing food after the end of June, should get in touch with us now so that we can start to plan how we can best help them.

I assure you, no one in Blackburn with Darwen will be left without any support.

To ask for support through the Help Hub:

• Fill in the online form at blackburn.gov.uk
• Or call 01254 588111 – lines are open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday, and 9am-12pm on weekends.