Caring Kerri bringing free lunch to those in need

Kerri Wilson, 40, who recently set up a paid-for food delivery service, Board at Home, decided to also offer free meals after hearing some “heartbreaking” stories of families and individuals who are struggling.

She said: “I’ve worked from home on social media for a few years but before that I worked in restaurants for 15 years, back and front of house, and I absolutely loved my career in hospitality. I get great joy working with food and people.

“I was sitting at home recently and saying to my husband how lucky we are that we can work at home without distraction and we got to chatting about how hard it is to be a working parent with young kids at home trying to juggle work and schoolwork and feeding time and I came up with an idea of delivering fresh lunches in my local area to take a bit of pressure off parents and this has really taken off so well and for that I’m extremely grateful

“When I first advertised this service I mentioned that if any families are struggling financially that I would deliver these lunch boards to anyone in need and that they would be free of charge and that if anyone messaged me for the free service that it would be in the strictest of confidence

“I literally just set the lunch on the front doorstep and send them a text message and say your lunch is at the front door.”

“I have received some heartbreaking messages and I’m delighted that I’ve already delivered these families lunches free of charge.”

Kerri pointed out the lunches aren’t just for kids, but anyone who is finding it difficult to feed themselves or their family during lockdown.

“It’s for anyone in need, just let me know.”

Kerri set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of the lunches, which include sandwiches, yoghurt and fruit, and said the support from her local community has been “overwhelming”.

“In the space of a day, I had so many people wanting to donate. One lovely lady donated £100. Every penny helps towards a fresh lunch even donating £1 will make a difference In a week of running this scheme we have delivered over 100 free fresh lunch boards and people have donated over £400. We want to help as many people as possible in these weird times we are living.”

Kerri said she is hoping to link up with food banks over the coming weeks and deliver food parcels, as well as lunches, to even more people in need.

*For more info visit Board at Home on Facebook or to contribute visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/board-home-free-lunches-for-kids-and-elderly.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor