Deliveroo will make 500,000 meals available for free to NHS staff on the front line of the UK's coronavirus fight.
So far, the takeaway delivery service says it has secured donations for 350,000 free meals, with Pizza Hut leading the way by donating 300,000 to be given for free to nurses, paramedics and front line NHS workers during the covid-19 pandemic.
Deliveroo has started delivering the meals to NHS trusts in London and Manchester, but it is looking to expand the scheme to other cities it operates in, including Newcastle.
It says: "Deliveroo stands ready and hopes to deliver to NHS sites where there is a need for food, whether hospitals, primary care sites or field hospitals, for example sites such as the new Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre. Meals will be available over time as Deliveroo works with individual hospitals to identify where need is greatest, raises funds and gives restaurants across the UK the chance to donate meals. Meals will be made available where Deliveroo provides coverage."
Deliveroo customers will be given the chance to donate to fund meals for NHS staff.
Will Shu, CEO and founder of Deliveroo, said: "Those in the NHS working night and day to save lives are the real heroes of this crisis, and we want to do our small part to support them and the vulnerable who aren't able to leave their homes.
"Thanks to our dedicated riders, the generosity of our restaurant partners and their teams who are keeping kitchens open to serve those most in need, we hope to be able to make a difference.
"Deliveroo is a British business and, as the founder, nothing would make me more proud than to use the network we have built to support the NHS, and I know the restaurant sector wants to play its part too."
All money raised will go towards food for health service workers, Deliveroo says. Neither Deliveroo or the restaurants it works with will profit from the plan.
Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health, said: "The nation needs the NHS like never before, and we must support every single colleague in the NHS. I'm delighted that Deliveroo and partners are playing their part in this great national effort with half a million meals for the NHS. We can best come through this if we pull together."
