Wheatley Group has expanded its EatWell service to support more vulnerable people.
A lifeline service has delivered more than 13,000 emergency food packages since the coronavirus pandemic began.
EatWell, ran by housing and care provider the Wheatley Group, has undergone a major expansion in recent weeks to support more vulnerable people across the 17 council areas in which it operates.
The expansion has been made possible by a raft of donations to the service, including £350,000 contributions from the Scottish Government and Wheatley itself. A further £34,000 has been donated by Wheatley’s suppliers and contractors.
EatWell, which is manned by Wheatley staff, operates seven days a week from food hubs in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dumfries.
Sir Harry Burns, chair of the Wheatley Foundation, said: “It has proven in a short space of time to be a vital lifeline service and an urgently-needed response to the coronavirus crisis.
“On behalf of the ill and vulnerable people who are receiving food deliveries, many of them self-isolating and facing extreme financial hardship, I would like to thank most sincerely the organisations who have made these generous donations. Every penny will go towards buying food supplies for vulnerable people from Beith to Balloch, Stranraer to Kirkcaldy and Dumbarton to Leith.”
Shepherd and Wedderburn partner Andy Hall, the client relationship partner for Wheatley Group, said: “We are proud to support Wheatley Group’s charitable foundation to rapidly expand its EatWell food parcel service, delivering essential grocery items across its estate to the elderly and most in need during lockdown.
“The value of community has shone through in this crisis, and we are delighted to assist the Wheatley Foundation in supporting communities across Scotland in these difficult times.”
As well as expanding EatWell, Wheatley has donated £100,000 to the charity Social Bite’s food delivery service and pledged to hand over 200 empty homes to local authorities to provide temporary accommodation for homeless people.
