A social enterprise that distributes food to communities in need has launched an emergency food and funding appeal to aid its charity partners.
FoodCloud, which provides food to community groups in Ireland and the UK, says that demand for its services has increased in recent weeks as a result of Covid-19, but that its resources are under pressure due to 40% of its community partners closing because of the reduced availability of volunteers.
FoodCloud has also seen a 50% decrease in surplus food donations from supermarkets as a result of stockpiling.
Our emergency response efforts will be in addition to our day-to-day activities and we are now appealing for food and funding support to meet the growing demand.
Iseult Ward, FoodCloud CEO, explained: “We are preparing to meet the additional demand for food parcels by establishing new strategic partnerships with community organisations that will support the ever-changing needs of individual communities across Ireland.
“Through these partnerships, we are accelerating our support of families whose children normally get free school meals, the elderly with underlying health conditions and those who need to self-isolate,” Ward added.
FoodCloud says it is working closely with the food industry to “secure a constant supply” of food and essential products, citing the possibility of job losses over the coming weeks across multiple areas of the economy, with people being in more need of support.
FoodCloud is seeking food donations from food businesses, as well as financial support to manage the increased operational warehouse costs and the logistic costs.