More than one million free meals have been delivered to those in need during the COVID-19 crisis.

The equivalent of 1,104,120 meals have been provided to residents across North Ayrshire in a variety of ways.

Most of the meals have come via the council’s weekly food parcels which are being provided, free of charge, to those in receipt of free school meals and/or school clothing grant, as well as to some of the most vulnerable residents in North Ayrshire.

Each parcel contains enough food to provide a family of four with lunches for five days. Over 53,432 of these essential food packs have been delivered.

The packs are made up of between 75-80 per cent of fresh produce, most of which comes from local suppliers based in Ayrshire and wider Scotland.

The council’s catering team has also been preparing and serving up meals for children attending the childcare hubs as their parents carry out essential work on the frontline. To date, around 6,200 hot meals have been dished out.

And a further 29,280 hot meals have been delivered to those in need.

Cllr Jim Montgomerie, Cabinet Member for Green New Deal and Sustainability, said: “This crisis has shown what community spirit is all about and we are incredibly grateful to each and every single person that is chipping in to make North Ayrshire a place to be proud of.”

Contact details for the hubs can be found at http://northayrshire.community/wp-content/uploads 2020/03/2003030-Hubs.pdf

    ********************

Scotland is in lockdown. Shops are closing and newspaper sales are falling fast. We’re not exaggerating when we say that the future of the Irvine Times, and the vital local news service we’ve provided since 1873, is under threat.

Please consider supporting the Irvine Times in whatever way you can – by paying just 90p for a copy of the paper, when you’re shopping for essential supplies for yourself and others, or by subscribing to our e-edition here.

Thanks – and stay safe.