The Food Bus, run by the charity Be Enriched
(Picture: ES Composite)A bus where people can buy affordable food will stop at a London hospital for the first time after demand from staff and patients.
The Food Bus, run by the charity Be Enriched, will make an extra stop at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton to enable people to buy food cheaper than in the shops.
It comes as growing numbers of people in jobs struggle with the cost-of-living crisis. One in four hospitals has set up food banks to support staff, including nurses, and hospital bosses have warned that NHS workers are leaving for better paid jobs in supermarkets or hospitality.
Helen Fielding, of the Food Bus, said: “We have seen an increased demand for our services and we want to support the NHS, especially when you hear about staff using food banks.”
Money raised through our On the Breadline Christmas Appeal in partnership with Comic Relief and the Childhood Trust will help keep organisations such as Be Enriched and the Food Bus running.
The bus sells food for about 25 per cent less than in the shops because the charity sources from wholesalers and passes on savings. As well as groceries, it stocks foods aimed at different communities the bus visits.
While shoppers buy food downstairs, visitors can drink tea or coffee upstairs in a specially converted café, use the free wifi and charge their mobile phones.
The Queen Mary’s Hospital project was launched after the bus visited for a one-off event during malnutrition awareness week in October. It was so popular with everyone from hospital porters to admin staff and patients that the bus will visit every week from January to March next year.
The bus also helps those who physically cannot get to shops. Kemi Akinola, CEO of Be Enriched, said they use food to bring joy and connection to the socially excluded.
She said: “There have been lots of reports about nurses using foodbanks. I am not surprised they need to shop from the bus — their wages haven’t risen for years. No matter how many claps you do, that’s not going to turn into money.”
