Deliveroo raises £1.5m to feed NHS workers

The delivery company says the money raised from customer donations and corporate funding will enable 50,000 NHS staff  to order a free meal. NHS workers will be eligible to receive a £20 voucher for Deliveroo, which it says will cover both the cost of the meal and delivery.

Deliveroo has already committed to making 500,000 free meals available to frontline NHS workers, with deliveries taking place to hospitals across the country, and says the total value of food donated and money raised amounts to over £3.5m. Food for delivery to NHS hospitals has been donated by Deliveroo’s restaurant partners, led by Pizza Hut, and including others such as German Doner Kebab, KFC, Itsu, Burger King, Neat Burger and Bella Italia.

It has already delivered nearly 60,000 meals to NHS hospitals, including St Mary’s Hospital London, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Trafford General Hospital in Manchester, UCLH hospitals in Euston Road and Queen Square and North Middlesex Hospital. The company has also expanded its fleet of vehicles to do more large-scale deliveries to hospitals across the UK.

“Whether to hospitals or homes, Deliveroo is providing NHS workers with free meals and we are incredibly proud to do so,” says Will Shu, CEO and founder of Deliveroo. “This is just a small gesture of thanks for the enormous effort they are all making to save lives and protect us all.”

“Deliveroo’s commitment to providing free meals and delivery service to our staff is invaluable and we are grateful for their continued support of our frontline NHS workers at UCLH,” says Carol Haraldsoon, head of charitable giving at University College London Hospitals.

Deliveroo is one of a number of delivery platforms that is helping out NHS workers. Just Eat has announced it is extending the 25% discount​​ it offers NHS workers after reporting that one million meals had been ordered by NHS staff in the first two weeks of its offer. Last month, Uber Eats gave away​ ​100,000 vouchers​, each valued at £10, for NHS workers to buy a meal from restaurants and convenience stores across the UK that are linked to its app.

Earlier this week a crowdfunding campaign support NHS staff being led by healthy fast food chain Leon reached its £1m target​​.

Deliveroo says it will continue to fundraise as it seeks to extend the offer further.