Help The Hungry: Tottenham Hotspur stadium transforms into food hub for vulnerable Londoners

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has become the first community hub to open as part of an ambitious initiative to deliver surplus food to vulnerable Londoners.

As the total raised by our Help The Hungry appeal in conjunction with our sister title, the Evening Standard, leapt by £300,000 in 24 hours to £850,000, the stadium’s underground “pitch pocket”, usually used to store the retractable grass pitch, was transformed into a production line reminiscent of a war effort.

It began on Monday just after midday when our appeal partner, The Felix Project, delivered 1,800kg of produce, including fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, milk, bread, porridge, pasta, pre-prepared soups and ready meals.

Dozens of volunteers wearing masks, latex gloves and high-vis vests stood two metres apart behind trestle tables brought in from local schools and began to prepare individual food parcels. These would later be delivered to the doorsteps of poor, elderly and vulnerable residents of Haringey, as identified on the council’s database, as well as to the homes of local children eligible for free school meals.

Spurs chair Daniel Levy said: “As a club, we have always been clear about our commitment to the wider community — and never has this been more important than it is now. We are immensely proud of the efforts of everybody involved in the fight against Covid-19 and see today as just the start of what we can do as a club to assist.”

A Haringey council spokesperson said 150 of the borough’s most vulnerable families would have got food parcels delivered yesterday. Production will be ramped up from today to several thousand food parcels daily.

The packers are council employees transferred from non-priority services and volunteers from Edible London, a local charity tackling food poverty.

A second Haringey hub, located at Alexandra Palace, also became operational yesterday, and will be used to supply food to borough residents with severe underlying health problems in self-isolation as part of the government’s Covid-19 “shielded” category.

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Joseph Ejiofor, leader of Haringey council, said: “I’m inspired by the generosity of our community who have stepped up to help so quickly. We have staff and volunteers working tirelessly at our two food redistribution centres, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Alexandra Palace, alongside our voluntary sector partners, Edible London.

“Working together we’re ensuring food gets to households who need it most. With more volunteers, we hope to support thousands, so please get in touch if you can help.”

Donations to our appeal poured in yesterday, including £160,000 from the Duke of Westminster through his Westminster Foundation, a substantial pledge from Burberry, and £25,000 from Two Magpies Fund, a non-profit helping women who have experienced abuse. And more than £20,000 was pledged by 350 members of the public via our Virginmoneygiving page.

Help The Hungry is also highlighting the needs of food banks and projects across Britain that need your support to feed the vulnerable through the coronavirus crisis.

Rani Nagra of the Westminster Foundation said: “As one of many initiatives we are undertaking to support families through this crisis, we’re delighted to support The Felix Project.”

Marco Gobbetti, CEO of Burberry, said: “The team at Burberry is proud to support those working tirelessly to combat Covid-19. We hope the support we provide will go some way towards saving lives and helping our world recover from this devastating pandemic.”

Kirsten Westlake, from the Two Magpies Fund, said: “Felix provides practical help to some of the most vulnerable people. We should support them in their work.”

To donate to the campaign, visit virginmoneygiving.com