Covid-19 Emergency Food Response

This page has been set up in direct response to calls from the Brighton & Hove Indian Community (BIC) to support the emergency food response to the Covid-19 pandemic affecting Brighton and Hove residents.

Members of the Brighton & Hove Indian community including the Gujarati Cultural Society, Sussex Indian Punjabi Society, Brighton and Hove Hindu Community, Indian Colours, and other smaller Indian groups and individuals are helping to raise funds to purchase essential food, packaging and toiletries for vulnerable & isolated people in Brighton & Hove during the Coronavirus crisis.

All donations given on this site will be passed on to the various voluntary organisations and groups involved with the emergency food response across the city. 

Urgent appeal

As the Coronavirus crisis continues to affect communities across Brighton & Hove, we need to ensure the most vulnerable people in our city are not left hungry at home. We need your help to provide food parcels and cooked meals for those who are living in poverty and isolated.

Last week the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership and partners delivered 1,440 food parcels & 1,814 meals, compared to 420 weekly parcels before Coronavirus, a dramatic increase. Shockingly, current food costs are £10,000+ per week, even with donated surplus food. It’s clear your generous donations are making a huge difference too!

Over the last few weeks, many local residents have lost their previous income and many older and vulnerable people have been advised to self-isolate at home for up to 12 weeks. The existing food bank model of people collecting parcels is now not an option as it could put people at risk at a time when demand is higher than it has ever been.

Why your donations are needed

Food banks and many low-cost community meals depend on surplus food but there is not sufficient supply during this critical time. Well-meaning donations of food by members of the public also run the risk of spreading the virus.

We need to purchase (largely wholesale/ in bulk) some food and other essentials to meet demand - all funds raised will pay for food, toiletries and packaging so that we can deliver our plans as set out below.

Food Matters is proud to support this appeal by passing on all donations from the Brighton & Hove Indian Community gathered through this site to the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, the organisation coordinating this appeal on behalf of all the key organisations working on these issues in Brighton & Hove: FareShare who distribute surplus food to all food banks, the Real Junk Food Project who create pay-as-you-feel meals from surplus, the Bevy who are starting a Food Factory to make meals, Chomp who provide free meals during school holidays, all the local food banks, and key referral & equalities organisations (including Lunch Positive, Voices in Exile, the Clare Project).

This is the website for Food Matters, a national charity working on food and health projects. We are involved with food projects and programmes in the city working with and alongside our sister organisation, the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership. The Food Partnership is coordinating the city wide emergency food response and this page aims to support that response.

Thank you, from all the team at Food Matters, Brighton & Hove Food Partnership and the amazing community food projects across the city!