Coronavirus: Nightclub to become food warehouse to help most vulnerable

“Right now, a huge priority for the club is to try to protect the most vulnerable members of society”

Studio 338 in London, one of the UK's largest nightclubs, has announced the venue will be turned into a giant warehouse in a bid to help the most vulnerable during the coronavirus outbreak.

Perched on the banks of the River Thames, the 3,000 capacity Ibiza-style club plays host to some of the biggest names in electronic music.

But now organisers plan to use the space as a base to store food and other essential items which will be delivered by a dedicated team of volunteers.

Studio 338 will also provide a shopping service for those who can afford food but are self-isolating.

"Right now, a huge priority for the club is to try to protect the most vulnerable members of society and a big part of this is enabling those in high-risk categories to stay at home and not be forced to go shopping where they may be exposed to the virus and may also be overwhelmed and frightened by panic buying and empty shelves," the owners say.

The club is calling on "young clubbers" to give up their time in a bid to help those most in need.

Once the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided, organisers say they will throw a party to thank all of those who got involved.

Dan Perrin, event director, said: "We know this will be a huge project and it's not something we have done before.

"But the hope is that we can bring together the young clubbers of London to help the elderly at this critical time.

Studio 338 is also calling on volunteers from the charity sector, particularly those with experience at food banks and homeless initiatives.

The club is also looking for sponsorship to help stock goods.

Dan added: "We also need a small army of people who are willing to go shopping on behalf of vulnerable people in their local area.

"We need everyone's help, not just to provide the service but also to create awareness amongst those most in need that there are people out there to help them.

"Volunteers, charity managers, logistics managers, supermarkets, sponsors and those willing to contribute food or finances please get in touch with us as soon as you can so that we can get this off the ground, saving lives as early as next week.

"We hope that this will both slow the spread of infection, protect those most at risk and also alleviate the coming strain for our national health service. When it's over we will also throw a huge party at the club for everyone who helped us in any way."

In recent days, supermarkets have become swamped with panic-buyers desperately attempting to stock up - despite government advice stating that there's no reason to do so.

Last week, sales of hand sanitiser rocketed by 255 per cent, while high street pharmacists Boots confirmed to the Independent that it was limiting sales of the product to two per customer.

The British Retail Consortium has urged people not to buy more food than they needed, to ensure elderly people are able to get enough food.