From chefs to lawyers to jewellery-makers, an army of volunteers has stepped up to help keep the nation fed

In the week since the NHS identified more than 1.5 million people who are most vulnerable and in need of support, the government has issued about 30,000 food parcels containing tinned vegetables, bread, tuna and fresh fruit. The number is expected to increase to “hundreds of thousands being delivered every week” according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, but action has been much quicker on the ground. We speak to some of the heroes in the drive to keep the nation fed.

Slough

In a little under three weeks, Ajmal Azam has helped support about 300 people in his local community by organising a network of food parcels, shopping and hot meals for those most in need. In another life, 36-year-old Azam is a full-time barrister practising in family law, a married father of two and a school governor. Now he spends six hours a day packing and delivering boxes of tinned goods, pulses, bread, fruit and veg. It’s humbling, he admits, but crucial work.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Barrister Ajmal Azam at Slough Islamic Trust where he has stocked donations made by businesses in the area. Photograph: Suki Dhanda/The Observer

“Slough Islamic Trust has supported this drive but it’s not faith-specific,” he says. “It’s about the whole community – around 80% of people we’ve been supporting are non-Muslim, they’re older or have disabilities, are self-isolating or have no support networks.”

Azam drew up a roster of volunteers, and has been working alongside Sikhs in Slough, who are also operating a mobile food-support network for those who are over 65 and quarantined. “We called up Wexham, our local hospital, to ask what they needed, and a senior A&E sister pointed out that a number of nurses are in self-isolation and struggling to get basic necessities – so we put together 100 packages that day.”

While Azam has spent “probably more than £1,000” getting supplies together, he is keen to credit local grocers, supermarkets and takeaways that have been providing food and essentials. “Everyone wants to help. That’s incredible. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since we put the first flyer out on social media. I do feel drained and exhausted at this stage but the impact we’ve had is so endearing. I’ve had so many messages from people that it’s making a difference to. That’s keeping me going.”

London

Chef Michey Chan is used to cooking up a storm. In his day job, heading up the staff kitchen at the Dorchester, he prepares an average of 900 meals for the lunch and dinner service. At Manorfield primary school in east London, where he is now feeding the children of key workers and teaching staff, the brief is a touch less intense but arguably a lot more satisfying.

“Andrea [restaurant manager at the Dorchester] and I now come in every day at 8.30am to start on the day’s lunch service,” he says. “We try to plan the meals two days in advance but it depends on what supplies we have, what has been donated and what needs to get used quickly.” Supplies from Ottolenghi have been donated and local grocers are chipping in with goods. Veggie stews, vegan bolognese, salads and sweet pastries have all snuck on to the menu.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Michey Chan, from the Dorchester, now cooks for key workers and teaching staff at Manorfield Park primary in east London.

“The kids have really good palates,” says Chan. “They don’t have bad eating habits and they’re adventurous about trying a lot of things. Sometimes we have to bribe them with cookies but they try everything.”

It has been two weeks since the Dorchester team took up residency in the school canteen, in an area that headteacher Paul Jackson describes as “incredibly deprived”. Over half the school is entitled to free school meals, and 72 pupils are on the child protection register. At the moment, anywhere between 12 and 20 children are coming in every day, with Manorfield operating as a hub for neighbouring schools.

With help from the Dorchester and the local authority, Jackson is now working on a scheme to get hot meals and food parcels delivered to vulnerable local families throughout the Easter holidays: “It’s a way for us to feel useful – you don’t notice the stress of everything until you’re out of here. One thing is certain: even when things change, school meals here will never be the same again. The standards have been changed for ever.”

Glasgow

It began, as lockdown ideas now often do, over Whatsapp. Disheartened by the gloom shrouding Glasgow, jewellery maker Freya Alder got chatting to her friends – illustrator Isabella Burnell and textile designer Ruth Mitchell – about ways to lift the collective mood. The three launched the Maker’s Raffle two weeks ago with pieces donated by a dozen Scottish ceramicists, potters, textile designers and printmakers, hoping to match the £1,500 Alder had raised in December for Glasgow South East Foodbank.

“After the general election, I felt a huge sense of doom and powerlessness. Going to the Co-op the morning after and putting some stuff in the food bank made me feel infinitely better, which is where the idea was born,” says Alder. The response this time round, however, has floored her.

Makers are uncomfortable trying to sell their wares when they know people are stretched thin, but this is a gesture anyone can join in. Freya Alder, fundraiser

“I did a little callout but people have been amazing. Our businesses are small and they’ve been hit hard but we know other vulnerable people are struggling.”

Glasgow is the most deprived city in Scotland, with 34% of children estimated to be living in poverty. The trio have raised just over £7,000 so far to help the most needy, with two more weeks left to go before the raffle is drawn. “It would be fun to hand over a big cheque at the end,” says Alder, “but in practical terms, the food bank needs the money now so it’s being sent over in weekly payments.”

Despite a significant loss of income for many of the one-person businesses trying to weather the current crisis, Alder reports that “it’s made us all feel better, I think that’s why it’s been so successful. Makers are uncomfortable trying to sell their wares when they know people are stretched thin, but this is a tiny little gesture anyone can join in.”

Tickets are £2. Alder’s hope is that communities in other cities will copy the model to support food banks, which are desperate for donations nationwide. “Every city has a creative scene, and if every city did one of these it could make so much money for people who need it most,” she said.