Critical Support was founded as a community based non-profit organisation in March 2020 to support NHS front line staff and those most vulnerable groups in response to the outbreak of coronavirus, and ‘in-turn’ to help sustain local businesses and restaurants.
Within months we raised enough funds to provide meals to 23 hospitals, soup kitchens, shelters and community groups which involved using more than 45 local businesses and co-ordinating deliveries across 60 volunteers. This was supplemented by the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE), smartphones and tablets, care packages, and groceries including fresh vegetables, eggs, milk. bread, flour, pasta, tinned foods, feminine hygiene products, toiletries and toilet paper.
At the height of the Pandemic, we were supplying upwards of +1,500 meals a day to NHS frontline staff at hospitals across London, Surrey, Sussex & Cornwall.
Today we continue to deliver weekly cakes a treats to some hospitals, but our focus has moved to delivering Supermarket surplus food to local charities and community groups that cater for those most vulnerable individuals in our society, whilst helping to reduce food waste.
The funds raised by individual donations and our sponsors has helped subsidise over 600,000 meals and has provided a much-needed lifeline to many. We reach 3000 people a week in delivering their food, shelter and support needs.
More recently, we have set up a 13-bed property in Clapham to support families fleeing the war in Ukraine. The property acts as a half-way house, providing those families who are in desperate need – a safe place to stay. Once settled, we are able to sign-post new arrivals to essential services, help their children to find schools and provide community support to get them settled for their new life in the UK.
