Charities, community groups and businesses in Selsdon and Monks Hill have teamed up during the coronavirus emergency to provide shopping to the most vulnerable residents living in the area.
The Selsdon Food Hub is open for donations and offers of volunteer help
The groups include Selsdon Contact, a registered charity which has been established in the area for almost half a century, plus the Selsdon Centre for the Retired, Vintage 62, the Monks Hill Food Stop, some local churches, GP surgeries and Sainsbury’s.
But the group’s hopes of opening a café to act as a community hub during the quarantine period have been put on hold, following the government directive last night to close all pubs, bars and restaurants.
Andy Stranack, the Croydon councillor who works as the manager at Selsdon Contact and is helping to co-ordinate the effort, said, “If you can spare a few tins or some toilet rolls to help a vulnerable resident, please can drop a donation outside the Selsdon Centre for the Retired, opposite Sainsbury’s.”
The group began collecting donations yesterday.
“We have more than 3,000 over-70s living in the Selsdon area,” said Stranack, pictured below.
“At Selsdon Contact and Centre for the Retired we come into regular contact with many of these residents. In Selsdon we want to make sure that no one is left isolated in their own homes without food.”
The items which the community groups are keen to have donated include: tinned or packet soup, sugar, washing powder, tinned fish/meat, toilet roll, long-life milk, pasta, baked beans, tea bags, soap, rice, tinned veg, coffee, tinned pies, instant mash, powdered milk.
“We will also need fresh produce – milk, bread, fruit and vegetables – on a regular basis. If you have not got any food but can donate some money you can bring it into the Contact Office, which is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 3pm.”
Donations can also be made online at the Selsdon Contact website by clicking here.
“Please remember the food stop service on Monks Hill, at St Francis Church, and the Vine Food Bank service in New Addington are also in operation and need donations.”
To keep up to date with the latest developments, there’s also a Coronavirus Selsdon Support page on Facebook.
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