Manchester United to donate 60,000 meals to NHS staff on coronavirus frontline

The initiative will see meals delivered free-of-charge across four sites in Manchester

Manchester United are set to donate 60,000 prepared meals to NHS staff helping fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The initiative, a joint-effort between United, the Manchester United Foundation, Mealforce and the club’s catering supplier, Bidfood, will see meals delivered free-of-charge across four sites in Manchester as part of the ongoing effort to tackle Covid-19.

NHS staff based at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, who would normally have to provide their own meals while on-duty, will benefit from the service.

The initiative will involve over 80 permanent and casual club staff, who have volunteered to prepare the food in the kitchens at Old Trafford in line with government social distancing restrictions.

Staff and facility costs are being covered by United while all other costs will be underwritten by Manchester United Foundation.

From there Bidfood will make the deliveries across the city.

The initiative is collaboration with Mealforce, a coalition of organisations which have come together in a co-ordinated effort to deliver more than 500,000 meals in the last four weeks to frontline NHS workers across the UK.

Ian Wace, the businessman who has led the Mealforce initiative, said: “Manchester United is a very generous addition to the Mealforce coalition and I’d like thank them and all the businesses, individuals and charities who have come together to support our amazing NHS workers.

Manchester United Foundation chief executive John Shiels added: “While many of our regular programmes have been disrupted by the pandemic, Manchester United Foundation is doing everything possible to continue helping the communities that we serve during this period of elevated need.

“Delivering meals to local hospitals is a wonderful initiative that unites the Old Trafford workforce in its support of the NHS; I thank everyone for their commitment to this inspiring scheme.”