LMC's Community Involvement in Response to Covid-19 Pandemic

Staff at Lancaster & Morecambe College have been busy answering the call to support their local community during the Covid-19 pandemic, by taking to the campus’ catering kitchens, donning aprons and peeling pounds of vegetables.

In partnership with Lancaster City Council and the Eggcup food poverty project, the LMC catering staff have been joined by volunteers from the college’s Health & Safety & Engagement Teams, who have all helped turn donations of vegetables, meat & dairy produce into over 500 healthy & nutritious meals, ready to be distributed to vulnerable families across the district.

The College’s Engagement Manager, Victoria Carter, was one of those who helped prep the ingredients this week;

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the College to help support those most in need within our community. With all of our students being taught remotely via on-line learning platforms, due to the current social distancing guidance, our industry-standard catering kitchens were just standing empty. It seemed like the ideal opportunity for us to get involved with this project and our staff were keen to volunteer their time and expertise.

"The food was donated to Eggcup by local businesses and our talented team of chefs created a range of curries, pies and soups, which will now be distributed by volunteers from the project. I never thought I would enjoy peeling onions for 2 hours solid, but knowing that we are helping people out during these uncertain times, makes it all worthwhile!”

Local food businesses, including Whitewells, Speights, Althams and Stephensons have agreed to donate more produce in the coming weeks, so the chefs are busy planning the next 500 meals. Any businesses wishing to donate should email a.bowker@lmc.ac.uk

The College’s Health & Safety team have also donated large quantities of PPE to the Lancashire Resilience Forum, including gloves, face-masks and aprons. This equipment would have been used by staff and students across a range of vocational training and real work environments, but will now be distributed to workers in the local healthcare sector.

Principal, Wes Johnson, said: 

“We are proud of the College’s place at the heart of our community and we have never been more committed to supporting local projects which benefit those who are most in need. Whilst we have now transitioned fully to on-line teaching & learning, the College remains open to those students who require our support throughout these challenging times."

Stay up to date with the College's involvement in the community on social media:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram