2,000 food boxes delivered each week in Hartlepool as teams kept people fed during height of pandemic

Bosses at Hartlepool Borough Council have reviewed the provision of food to those in need offered during the Covid-19 response.

It comes after councillors previously raised concerns over the decision to use one local business, Chilli Cake, to provide food parcels and questioned why funds were not used to help schools or the voluntary sector provide the offer.

Key in the provision of the support, both in terms of food and wider aid, was the Hartlepool Support Hub, set up to help those shielding and in need, according to council chiefs.

Access to food was an ‘immediate and urgent’ priority for the hub, and initially emergency food parcels were created to support those shielding, with the help of Hartlepool Foodbank.

However council officers noted a ‘more sustainable’ option was required and therefore moved to work with a Hartlepool restaurant to provide weekly food parcels, noting other local authorities in the region did similar.

In total £72,960 was spent by the council on the purchase of weekly food boxes, while £15,000 was provided as financial support to Hartlepool Foodbank, according to council reports.

A total of 1,900 weekly food boxes were purchased by the council at an average cost of £38.40 per box, with 887 individuals and families benefiting from the initiative and 442 boxes distributed to people over 60.

A report to go before the council finance and policy committee from Jill Harrison, director of adult and community based services, detailed the council’s response and noted it was received ‘very positively’ by those it helped.

She said: “In the early stages of the council’s Covid-19 response, access to food household essentials was a significant challenge with shortages in supermarkets.

“The cost of the service compared favourably to the costs in another council within the region.

“The decisions taken in relation to provision of food supported individuals and families experiencing difficulty accessing food, whether through poverty or other reasons.

“The feedback from people who have been supported by the Hub, and their families/carers has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Council officers noted a number of providers had been considered but were unable to deliver the service due to issues such as staff being furloughed, but three businesses were identified who would be able to meet the requirements.

Only one of the three was contactable and able to meet the service specification within the required time and an ‘urgent decision’ was taken to set up provision for four weeks, which was later extended for the same period.

All costs have been covered from government funding provided to the council specifically to deal with the Covid-19 response.

Council chiefs also helped provide hot meals as the lockdown continued, working with Mecca Bingo to deliver the food to those with social care needs.

Hot meals were prioritised for individuals who would have usually accessed support through other routes, and over 2,800 hot meals were delivered in total.

A national scheme was also developed by government to provide weekly food boxes to people on the national shielding list.

The shielding list for Hartlepool includes approximately 3,350 people with a maximum of 895 of those registered receiving food boxes through the national scheme.

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