Two leading British businessmen have chosen to ‘Salute the NHS’ and provide staff at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) with nourishing and high quality food during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
Staff working in ‘COVID RED’ areas of the Trust and colleagues who need to self-isolate at home will receive food packs thanks to SaluteTheNHS.org as will front-line NHS employees across the country.
More than 2,000 packages per day will be distributed across UHMBT’s three main hospital sites and the Trust is hugely grateful for this incredibly generous donation.
The SaluteTheNHS.org website was established by British businessman, Ron Dennis, CBE and catering expert, Nigel Harris, to honour NHS workers for their efforts during the current crisis.
Ron (pictured below) is best known for his former role as a major shareholder, CEO, chairman and founder of The McLaren Technology Group and Nigel is the owner of Absolute Taste and former owner of Fresh Direct, one of the largest fresh food providers in the UK.
With an original grant of £1 million already donated, a further £500,000 pledged by DreamChasing (The Dennis Foundation), production facilities and logistics provided by Nigel, as well as an army of experts and kind partners, SaluteTheNHS.org was created to help fight the battle against COVID-19.
Ron is coordinating the distribution of the food packs with significant support from central Government, hospitals, the British Army and other front-line organisations. Together they are ensuring that NHS employees receive the support they need.
UHMBT staff working in ‘COVID RED’ areas will receive complimentary food packages in their departments. Thanks to a partnership with Yodel, packages will be delivered to the homes of staff who are self-isolating (if they consent). There will also be a supply of ‘Boost’ packs that community and hospital staff can access.
Ron said: “Our campaign is off to a flying start thanks to the immense support we are receiving from our launch partners and now other business leaders and individuals are stepping up to the plate to be counted during this fight against coronavirus.
“This is a major, professional operation and we have been overwhelmed by the positive response right across the board.
Nigel added: “We intend to ensure our NHS frontline staff get quality, nutritious and balanced food over a sustained period.
“We are working closely with partners on supplies and distribution of our bespoke ‘Boost’ meals and we are in talks about new elements that can be added to the food range. It is intense and fast moving but we are doing what we said we would. We won’t let our NHS heroes down.”
Aaron Cummins, Chief Executive of UHMBT, said: “We are extremely grateful for this amazingly generous support from SaluteTheNHS.org.
“Our teams are going above and beyond the call of duty so it is wonderful to receive this recognition and practical support from a host of leading businesses.
“It will make a huge difference to our front-line staff and colleagues who are self-isolating to have healthy and delicious food to sustain them through these tough times. A massive heart-felt ‘thank you’ to SaluteTheNHS!”