‘Nourishing’ food parcels provided by Home From Hospital Care

Home From Hospital Care were one of the beneficiaries of the PWCF COVID-19 Recovery Fund, and their work has had a real impact on patients in Birmingham over the past year. The charity provides assistance to those who have recently left hospital and may have difficulties getting their own groceries, prescriptions and other essential items. The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF) is delighted to have played a role in tackling food insecurity in Birmingham by funding Home From Hospital Care’s emergency food parcel programme, ensuring patients did not return home to empty cupboards and empty fridges. Over the last few months, 120 people have received a food parcel. PWCF has allowed Home From Hospital Care to keep up with the increased demand caused by the pandemic.

The emergency food parcels gave recipients the comfort of not having to worry about going out to purchase provisions immediately after returning from hospital, and were particularly helpful for the less mobile as they allow the patient more time to recover and build confidence. Many did not have access to their family and friends or the finances to be able to provide food for themselves after their time in hospital. This can be a huge worry, especially when travel is restricted, and food parcels can alleviate these concerns.

One recipient of a food parcel said ‘it has been a life saver. I have been really ill for the past twelve months and my family all live far away. I had no way of shopping for myself when I came out of hospital. It has been invaluable’. Another wrote in a letter that ‘it was so nourishing in more ways than one’.

Two family members of service users said ‘You delivered a food parcel to my mum yesterday and she asked me to ring you and say thank you. She really is chuffed with it. She was feeling a bit low and this has really cheered her up.’

‘My dad was in hospital. When he got home the food was there waiting for him and he was delighted.’

Emergency food parcels also enable the discharge time to be shortened, and can reduce ‘bed-blocking’ in hospital – particularly important during a pandemic in which hospital time is minimised as far as possible. The money awarded by the PWCF enabled Home From Hospital to increase their emergency food parcel provision during a period with fifty per cent more referrals.

PWCF awarded £150,000 to support COVID-19 recovery work in some of the most deprived communities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

To find out more about Home From Hospital Care, please see http://www.home-from-hospital-care.org.uk/.