Councillor Adam Edwards makes sure food reaches people who need it most during COVID-19 pandemic

Cllr Edwards, who runs the Sandylands Residents Association, has been overseeing the delivering of food to the doors of vulnerable people during the coronavirus pandemic.

Not surprisingly, there was a surge in demand for this, with hundreds of people unable to leave their homes due to the risk of contracting COVID-19, while the economic effects of the outbreak left plenty more struggling for money to afford essential supplies.

The food came from what supermarkets were unable to sell, meaning that it didn’t go to waste and instead went to those who needed it the most.

Cllr Edwards said: “We’ve helped out elderly couples, people who have underlying health issues and obviously people who are undergoing chemotherapy, people who definitely could not go out.

“We were quite happy to go around and basically knock on their doors and run away from their doorstep because at that point it was very much maintain your distance at all costs.

“We just literally took the food around, knocked on the door, left the food with them. They would send a message to us that we needed food, so we would take their address and bring them their food to help them out.”

Cllr Edwards has worked closely with the charity Manna House, who have done plenty themselves during the pandemic, to ensure hundreds of deliveries per week were made.

Although lockdown measures are starting to be eased, he knows the association’s work is far from done.

He said: “The shielding of people is coming to an end but we still haven’t got rid of the virus and there’s likely to be an escalation - particularly when furlough comes to an end - in demand for the food.”

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