Bus selling affordable food to help NHS staff and patients at London hospital

A double-decker 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 nutritious food at a cheaper price than is available 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, assistant manager to 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 NHS 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 Food Bus sells food for around 25 per cent less than in the shops because the charity sources from wholesalers and passes on savings. As well as regular groceries including fruit, cabbage and pasta sauce, it stocks traditional foods aimed at different communities the bus visits. People can buy foods such as yams and plantains close to home rather than travelling to specialist shops.

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 devices.

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.

“It was an amazing success and all the staff were keen to have us back” Miss Fielding said.

“It was a help for staff who work long shifts which generally do not line up with opening hours of affordable grocery stores.”

The bus also helps those who physically cannot get to shops. One elderly woman who shops onboard would otherwise spend half the day going to and from her nearest shop with one bag – which is all she can carry. Instead, the bus stops near her block of flats and she has a short walk. Others are able to save money on their bus fare which leaves them with more for shopping.

Kemi Akinola, CEO of Be Enriched, said they use food to bring joy and connection to the socially excluded and to build communities. She added that there has been an increase in the number of people using the food bus and that the first day it stopped at Queen Mary’s Hospital was its busiest day.

She said: “There have been lots of reports about nurses and teachers having to use food banks. I am not surprised they now need to shop from the bus - their wages haven’t been raised for years. No matter how many claps you do, that’s not going to turn into money.”

Describing what a difference the bus makes, she said: “One child said she was happy her mum had bought some food from the bus because all they had in the fridge was a yoghurt – and she knew her mum would have given it to her. But now she knew her mum would be able to eat.”