Liverpool Women’s Hospital has launched its ‘Food Pantry – Giving is Caring’ project today. The aim of the Food Pantry is to provide support for people who use our services with kind donations of food and other essential items.
Many people in the local community may have felt the impact of recent events relating to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, and charitable services such as food banks for some families will be essential during this time of extreme uncertainty.
Liverpool Women’s has called upon its team of volunteers to support the Food Pantry project who will help put together ‘pantry packages’ for people using our services who need them most.
Gina Barr, Volunteer Services Manager, said:
“With many families experiencing greater financial hardship and emotional pressures as a result of Covid-19, Liverpool Women’s wants to offer some support to the local community. We have been extremely touched by the enormous generosity shown by local businesses and members of the community whose acts of kindness have supported our hard working staff over recent months. Therefore we want to now show our thanks as a Trust by supporting others. Although we hope that life in the near future may return to some degree of normality, for many people there will still be challenges ahead and we would like to help people as much as we can.”
Who can donate and how?
From today people who wish to make a donation will find a large basket, clearly marked for donations situated in the Main Reception of Liverpool Women’s Hospital. If you’re unsure where to go a member of staff on reception will help you.
To respect the current social distancing rules and restrictions on unnecessary travel, we are currently only permitting patients with scheduled appointments to enter the hospital and members of staff working on-site to donate to the ‘Food Pantry’. We hope to expand our Food Pantry in the near future when we may be able to lift some of the current restrictions and welcome other people into the hospital to make a donation.
If you are a patient attending the hospital for a scheduled appointment, you can use this opportunity to donate your item(s) at the collection point in Main Reception.
Staff on duty can donate item(s) at any time of the day or night at the collection point in Main Reception.
What items can be donated?
We aim to provide food of good nutritional value, avoiding where possible, foods with high sodium content. We are unable to accept fresh perishable foods i.e. bread, fruit, vegetables, uncooked meat, or anything that requires refrigeration.
The following list should help give an idea of the types of items we would greatly appreciate:
Toiletries
- Toothbrushes (Adults and Infants)
- Toothpaste (Adults and Infants)
- Deodorant
- Sanitary Towels and Tampons
- Soap / shampoo / shower gel
- Cotton wool
- Baby wipes
- Toilet Roll
Groceries
- Tinned fruit and vegetables
- Tea/Coffee
- Powdered milk or Long-Life UHT milk
- Pasta
- Rice
- Cereal, healthy fruit and protein snack bars
What happens to the donated items?
Our team of volunteers will sort through the donated items and arrange them into small packages to be given to a number of our hospital teams who will ensure that patients and families most in need receive them.
Donated items that we are unable to pass on to our families will be given to some of our nearest local food banks.
The ‘Food Pantry – Giving is Caring’ project has been developed and organised by the Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust Volunteer Service. If you would like further information please contact Gina Barr, Voluntary Services Manager on 0151 702 4368 or e-mail volunteers@lwh.nhs.uk quoting ‘FOOD PANTRY’ in the subject line.
