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The food and drink brands supporting NHS workers

Leon has teamed up with actors including Helen McCrory and Matt Lucas and started the campaign #FeedNHS, to deliver free hot meals to staff working in hospitals: #FeedNHS
Leon has teamed up with actors including Helen McCrory and Matt Lucas and started the campaign #FeedNHS, to deliver free hot meals to staff working in hospitals: #FeedNHS

Around the country, everyone is showing their appreciation for NHS workers who are working on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic.

Many of us are joining in by clapping for NHS and other key workers at 8pm on Thursdays, a new tradition that will hopefully continue in the coming weeks, while supermarkets are dedicating certain shopping hours to allow key workers who are doing long hours and night shifts, to buy food safely.

But frontline workers can’t always get to supermarkets, or are not able to secure a supermarket delivery slot.

And for those people, small and big businesses are pulling together their resources to help out by donating boxes of food and drink, and offering discounts for NHS workers nationwide.

The NHS also has an extensive list of discounts available to its staff, which covers food shops, taxi companies and supermarkets.

Here are just some of those businesses who have already rallied together to support our all-important NHS staff.

You can trust our independent roundups. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections. This revenue helps us to fund journalism across The Independent.

Brewgooder

Beer brand Brewgooder (which usually supports clean water charities) is donating a proportion of its beers at cost price to NHS workers with its campaign, "one on us". It has created a platform for customers to donate a four-pack of beer to an NHS employee with a £6 donation.

This will cover the cost to brew, pack and deliver the beer with a message included, while NHS workers can claim their four-pack by filling in this quick form.

It’s limited to one pack per person and available for delivery at residential addresses only.

Visit Brewgooder now

Mindful Chef

This recipe box service brings healthy ingredients and a recipe card to follow right to you door, to take the stress out of shopping and deciding what to cook.

For NHS workers it is offering 30 per cent off its food boxes and ready meal deliveries, which is ideal if you can’t make it to a supermarket during opening hours.

You will need to email hello@mindfulchef.com from your NHS email address and they will provide you with a code to access the discount.

Visit Mindful chef now

Leon

Aside from offering 50 per cent off its menu for NHS workers, Leon is also spearheading a campaign, #FeedNHS, to deliver free hot meals to staff working in hospitals.

It’s teamed up with actors Damian Lewis, Helen McCrory and Matt Lucas with the aim of crowdfunding £1m and delivering 6,000 meals a day.

So far it has raised more than £700,000 and other London restaurants have joined the cause including Dishoom, Rosa’s Thai, Pizza Pilgrims and Farmer J.

To donate to the campaign, find the #FeedNHS campaign's Just Giving page here.

Visit Leon now

Borough Market

London’s Borough Market is working with three London hospitals: St Thomas’, Kings College Hospital and The Maudsley, to provide 4,000 bags of seasonal fruit and vegetables every week.

Packed and delivered by Borough Market trader, Turnips, the food will also be accompanied by recipe cards to inspire easy dishes that can be cooked at home.

The initiative is aimed to prevent NHS workers having to spend time queueing at supermarkets before or after a long shift, especially as they are unlikely to be able to get a supermarket delivery slot.

Visit Borough Market now

Tom Kerridge

The chef, based in Marlow, along with a local group of volunteers, has managed to raise £100,000 in just 48 hours to help feed NHS staff. The initiative, Meals from Marlow, began with the idea of providing 500 free meals a day to local healthcare and frontline workers.

But since it has already reached it's target, the group, which also includes the town's mayor and town clerk, are planning to expand the service to providing 1,000 meals a day over an eight week period in the Buckingham and Berkshire areas.

Tom has donated his cooking equipment to be used to cook the meals, and other professional chefs will be joining him to help cook, too.

The group has now upped the target to £150,000, which they hope will provide 37, 500 meals.

Donate to Meals from Marlow now

Just Eat

The food and drink takeaway service is offering 25 per cent off orders for NHS workers. According to Just Eat, more than 20,000 nurses, doctors, paramedics and other NHS employees have taken advantage of the discount already.

You need to register an NHS email account to access the deal and it currently runs until 13 April.

Just Eat has also put in place a £10m support package for its small independent restaurants to support their operations and staff.

Visit Just Eat now

Deliveroo

Deliveroo is encouraging its users to donate money or buy a meal for a doctor or a nurse here, while making 500,000 meals available to NHS workers across the UK, for free.

It’s done this by securing meal donations from restaurants, led by Pizza Hut, who has pledged 300,000 meals, along with eateries, Itsu and Neat Burger.

Hospitals will also be able to order hot dishes directly with Deliveroo, starting in London and Manchester, with plans to expand.

Visit Deliveroo now

Northern Monk

Leeds-based brewery, Nothern Monk, gave away 5,000 cans of its pale-ale, Faith, to NHS workers across the country on 29 March.

Although it has closed the doors of its Leeds and Manchester taprooms, it is still available to shop online and has created Keep The Faith bulk packs of beer to keep your cupboards stocked up.

Visit Northern Monk now

Punch Bar & Tapas

In West Yorkshire's village of Honley, tapas bar, Punch Bar & Tapas, has launched an NHS menu which will be providing free meals for NHS workers and so far has seen more than 1,000 orders already.

Funded mostly by local couple, Ian and Jill Swire, who gave £20,000 to the cause, it has also provided enough meals for four people a week for the next three months.

Visit Punch Bar & Tapas now

Holy Yolks

In Wales, Holy Yolks scotch eggs has joined forces with other independent food businesses to make up care packages for NHS workers in the Cardiff, Vale and Newport area.

The packages will include food such as bread from Pettigrew Bakery, Uncommon Ground coffee and Penylan Preserves.

The crowdfunding campaign has massively surpassed its £200 fundraising goal but is still taking donations here.

Visit Holy Yolks now

Spirit of Britain

Spirit of Britain is a newly launched campaign by UK distilleries who have clubbed together to manufacture hand sanitiser for NHS staff and key workers.

The partnership includes companies such as Cotswolds Distillery, Staffordshire Gin and Whitby Gin and more, and collectively it has distributed more than 10,000 litres of sanitiser to healthcare providers, care homes, police officers and elderly residents.

It is also running a fundraising page that you can donate too here, to help with the efforts.

Visit Spirit of Britain now

Uber Eats

Taxi food delivery service Uber Eats is offering 100,000 vouchers with a value of £10 each to NHS staff, which will be available to anyone with an NHS email address.

If you are already registered with Uber Eats, then the promotional code will already be in your inbox.

Visit Uber Eats now

Kupros

This family-run, north London-based cheesemaker needs to be on your radar if you're partial to a Mediterranean salad. Kupros Dairy sources raw milk from ewes in Lancashire and turns it into award-winning British cheese, which it sells online.

Since the coronavirus pandemic has severely impacted its business due to cafe and restaurant closures, Kupros has also launched its own “essentials” grocery service, available for collection and delivery from its hub in north London and collection from its base in Surrey. The essentials package costs £55 and includes fresh bread, eggs, milk, cheese, flour, pasta and pastries, as well as other supplies.

The cheesemaker also offers a 10 per cent discount for all NHS workers on its essential packages, as well as a 15 per cent discount for NHS trusts that order a minimum of 20 baskets, with a special delivery service available for trusts within a 100 mile radius.

There’s discounts available on cheese orders too: NHS workers can get 30 per cent off by contacting Kupros for a discount code, while everyone else can get a 25 per cent off discount with the code “STAYHEALTHY25”.

Visit Kupros now

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