Draft:One Million Meals

One Million Meals is a charitable campaign launched in the United Kingdom at the end of March 2020 to provide free meals to serve the NHS staff, keyworkers, and vulnerable people facing the food crisis due to the first lockdown imposed in the UK on 23 March 2020. The campaign served hundreds of thousands of free meals and nutritious drinks by raising funds, donations and collaborations with the food industry. The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson recognised the charitable work of One Million Meals with a Points of Light award on 13 May 2021.

History

When the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson announced the first lockdown on 23 March 2020, the announcement created an instant food crisis. One Million Meals campaign was initiated by Muhammad Arif Anis and Raja Suleman Raza, later joined by Bilal Bin Saqib and Momin Saqib in response to the crisis. Initially, a donation page was set up at GoFundMe that gained a lot of traction. More than 5,000 meals were donated in the first week and the campaign expanded from Croydon to other trusts, and hospitals in England, Scotland and Wales. The One Million Meals team was bombarded with requests for food from dozens of organizations including the NHS hospital, trusts, ambulance units, police stations and food banks. Due to the lockdown, most of the canteens were shut down and the hospital staff were left to the vending machines. The long queues in front of the grocery stores made it even tougher for the health professionals and keyworkers to cook for themselves as the restaurants and takeaways were also non-functional. The One Million Meals campaign was appreciated to serve the most in need which included the NHS doctors, nurses, paramedics, ambulance drivers, firefighters, teachers teaching the keyworkers children, railways staff along with the homeless, and the destitute. +

See also

• Points of Light