Help The Hungry: Great Ormond Street staff treated to takeaways from top London restaurants

‘Gestures like this go such a long way,’ says senior nurse

Helping hand: proprietor of The Independent Evgeny Lebedev delivers 600 meals to Great Ormond Street staff with other Felix volunteers (Hannah Harley Young)

Doctors and nurses at Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) have received hundreds of freshly cooked meals from London’s top restaurants through The Independent’s Help The Hungry appeal.

Staff at the children’s hospital can now pick up a meal from some of the capital’s most exclusive restaurants, including The Ivy and Scott’s, at the end of their shift, instead of having to worry about shopping or preparing food.

Evgeny Lebedev, proprietor of The Independent, delivered 600 meals to the hospital along with several volunteers from The Felix Project, our partner in the appeal, including Georgie Czernobay, the central London operations coordinator of the charity.

It means Gosh staff can have a portion of The Ivy’s famous shepherd’s pie, a Thai green chicken curry from Bill’s or a lasagne from Harry’s Dolce Vita at the end of a hard day.

The restaurants will also be cooking vegetable soups, fish pie, chicken pie, chilli con carne and macaroni cheese for the hospital staff.

Amy Weild, senior staff nurse at Gosh, said: “It was such a lovely treat to receive these delicious, freshly cooked meals, particularly at the end of a long shift.

“It’s so heartwarming to see everyone coming together to support each other during these challenging times – gestures like this go such a long way.”

Volunteer chefs from Richard Caring restaurants, which also include Scott’s, Sexy Fish and 34 Mayfair, are cooking the meals in the kitchens of Ivy restaurants across London.

From now on, volunteers from The Felix Project will deliver more than 600 of the meals to Great Ormond Street Hospital for five days every week.

NHS workers can pick up the free food from a makeshift shop which has been set up within the hospital. Staff can take the food home at the end of a shift or eat it on their break while at work. Mark Curtin, CEO of The Felix Project, said: “The staff at the hospital were delighted with the food.

“Thanks to the food supplied to us from The Caring Foundation, we are able to provide them with good quality, nutritious meals to help them while they fight the coronavirus. It is wonderful to be able to take some of the burden off their shoulders by providing them with food and we hope it makes their jobs that little bit easier.”

Special delivery: Grace Waters and Will McCready with food from the Felix Project at Great Ormond Street Hospital (Hannah Harley Young)

The initiative comes as the funds raised in our Help The Hungry appeal, in association with the Evening Standard, rose to £1.1m. The money is being used to help The Felix Project fund the supply of food to children, those on low incomes, the NHS and vulnerable Londoners. Mr Lebedev said: “I am delighted that our campaign is able to supply food to the Great Ormond Street Hospital. Gosh is one of the most well-loved institutions in the country and it is an honour and a pleasure to be able to help them.”

Mr Caring said: “During these very difficult times we must come together, help each other and support those desperately in need.

“The fantastic volunteers from across the Caprice Holdings restaurants and The Ivy Collections have been cooking up more than 20,000 meals a week, and this number is increasing each week, to supply in partnership with The Felix Project some of London’s critically vulnerable communities.

“Today we have done our first delivery to the amazing NHS staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital and next week, utilising our kitchens and distribution partners across the country, we will start delivering to other key cities across the UK, including Manchester, Glasgow and Dublin.

“Together we are strong and together we can make a real difference.”

Matthew Shaw, chief executive of Great Ormond Street Hospital Foundation Trust, said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to The Felix Project and The Caring Foundation on behalf of everyone here at Gosh.

“These are challenging times and all of our staff are working their hardest to deliver the best care possible to our patients. To be able to enjoy a freshly cooked meal at the end of or during a hard shift makes a real difference – thank you.”

Louise Parkes, chief executive of Gosh Charity said: “I want to say a massive thank you to The Felix Project and The Caring Foundation for their hugely generous donation of freshly cooked meals for staff.

“As Gosh plays its role in the national response by treating more children from hospitals across London, resources will become increasingly stretched and the wellbeing of staff becomes ever more important.

“Being able to provide them with a nutritious and delicious meal is a fantastic way to boost morale and say thank you as they work around the clock to care for seriously ill children.

“At Gosh Charity it has been fantastic to see everyone come together at this time and we are so grateful to all the many businesses and individuals who have supported us so far.”

One of the latest donations to our appeal was £5,000 from hedge fund East Alpha Ltd.

Eric Armitage, its chief investment officer, said: “We are happy to support the magnificent efforts of The Felix Project in reducing food waste by directing precious resources to where they will do the most good.

“We know that our donation will be put to work quickly and effectively, making an immediate difference to the lives of Londoners in need.”

The Independent is asking food aid charities to contact us at helpthehungry@independent.co.uk to tell us about your project and what problems you are facing right now.

You can help us build a directory of ways that our readers can help the hungry in their area – through money, volunteering and food donations. Find out more about how you can support the Help the Hungry campaign here.