Caring for our most vulnerable residents

Vulnerable people across the district have been receiving regular food parcels and phone calls for a friendly chat thanks to Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) employees.

Food and essentials

At the start of lockdown, Epping Sports Centre became the hub for the district for organising food distribution and delivery to category A and B residents who could not leave their homes because of health conditions that made them more vulnerable to the virus.

The service organised by EFDC has been delivering food packages district wide with support from local businesses including Quality and Excellence Family Butchers, in Theydon Bois who sourced essential food items. EFDC also worked alongside Voluntary Action Epping Forest (VAEF) sign posting residents to the numerous services they were offering, including bespoke shopping and medicine collection.

EFDC staff delivering food parcels to a resident

EFDC staff collecting food from local butchers for food parcels

Theydon Bois Community Champion receiving 'Grow your own food' packs - Free for EFDC residents

Happy resident receiving there food parcel

Over 1400 telephone calls

In addition to food deliveries, staff have made over 1400 telephone calls to check on some of the district’s most vulnerable residents.

The calls have been very well received, with some residents being so happy to talk to someone, and others saying what a great job the council is doing and that they really appreciated the call during this difficult time.

Did you know?

During lockdown EFDC has:

• Made 1,422 telephone calls to check on our most vulnerable residents
• Supported 520 families regularly with food shopping
• Made 1,114 prescription collections and deliveries to shielding residents
• Completed 184 emergency doorstep welfare checks, where telephone contact was not possible

Keeping the conversation open about residents needs

Councillor Holly Whitbread, Housing and Community Services Portfolio Holder said:

These deliveries and phone calls have been a great opportunity to keep in contact with residents and keep the conversation open about their needs and our services.

We are so grateful to our partners, VAEF and Quality and Excellence Family Butchers for their support with the deliveries.

Government guidelines for those shielding

See the GOV.uk guidance on shielding and protecting extremely vulnerable persons from COVID-19 for more advice.

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