Staff at the Bill’s Restaurant and Bar in North Road and The Ivy in the Lanes in Ship Street have volunteered to work for The Caring Foundation – a charity set up by Richard Caring, who owns both restaurants, and his wife Patricia – throughout the Covid-19 crisis.
They have now joined forces with Albion in the Community, who will deliver the ready-to-eat meals to some of the most vulnerable people the charity works with locally. The initiative is already underway with Albion in the Community delivering 1,000 meals this week.
People working at the NHS testing centre established at the American Express Community Stadium will also receive meals, with Albion in the Community also following up on calls made by the club to season ticket holders who are currently isolating at home to offer them food parcels over the coming weeks.
The deliveries will initially target people living in Brighton and Hove, Lancing, Adur and Worthing. Meals are dropped off and then distributed from the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre training ground. The charity hopes to expand the scheme over time.
The initiative follows the launch of Albion in the Community’s new Together in the Community campaign, and the charity’s chief executive Matt Dorn was delighted to be able to offer this support.
He said, “When The Caring Foundation got in touch I was overwhelmed. This will make such a difference to so many of the people we work with. We can’t thank them enough.”
Albion staff and the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership have helped get the initiative up and running. It wouldn’t be possible, however, without the generosity of The Caring Foundation, which is also running similar schemes elsewhere in the UK.
Richard Caring said, “We are blessed to have the most amazing staff and suppliers who truly want to help and we applaud the wonderful network of our guests and friends of our brands for being so generous, not only with their good wishes, but also with actual donations and offers of support.
“During these terrible times we must all come together, help each other, and support those desperately in need. Together we are strong and can make a real difference.”