A local delicatessen from West Lothian is delivering free hot food to vulnerable pensioners living in isolation.
TeaJ’s in Armadale normally function as a busy takeaway shop but during the coronavirus crisis they have decided to focus on helping the most vulnerable among the community by delivering soup and filled rolls.
Owners Tom and Jeanette Sneddon put a post up on a Facebook page asking people for referrals and they have been inundated with inquiries ever since.
Speaking to the Courier Tom said: “We have been coming in every morning and making big pots of soup and then we are out on deliveries for most of the morning and the afternoon.
“Since we started out doing it people have been offering to come in and help us so we now have a small team of volunteers who help us to get the food out. So far we have been covering Armadale, Bathgate, Blackridge and Whitburn.
“All of our clients we have been helping are over the age of 70 and some of them really should be living in supported accommodation. They are so grateful when they see us and really seem to appreciate the contact - even though we are social distancing - but it is quite a scene and really emotional.”
The shop was shut when the government announced the lockdown but they have still been doing orders through an online application.
Tom hopes that they can abandon this and put their time solely into their relief effort.
He continued: “We haven’t been getting much coming in so if we can get this grant through from the government soon we will just ditch the online stuff and concentrate on serving the community. It is the most worthwhile thing I have ever done in my life.”
For more details see the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Teajs
