Leeds City Council are using a warehouse facility as a central hub for their emergency food provision system. This facility provides a coordination point for fleet vehicles and food deliveries, while packaging food parcels in a space large enough to maintain social distancing.

Between 16 March and 27 April, 10,083 food parcels were packed and provided through this facility, including 1,111 deliveries on April 21 alone.

This emergency food provision is available for families and individuals who are experiencing difficulties in accessing food due to reasons including financial constraints, self-isolation or being part of the shielded cohort. Leeds Council have published this flyer to alert residents to how they can access this service, including a note of who is eligible.

Requests can be made for a volunteer to collect and drop off, for direct delivery to homes (with a contactless drop), or for customer collection from a local 'provision hub', including foodbanks, community hubs (Armley, Compton Centre, Dewsbury Road and Merrion), third sector organisations, schools and children's centres.

This large scale operation is helped by partners such as Fareshare, Food Banks, Food Aid Network, Re think food and schools. Local schools and their catering services are also playing a central role in helping to ensure that vulnerable children and families have access to food, including school meals.