Inverness restaurants donate takeaway meals to frontline NHS staff at Raigmore hospital during coronavirus pandemic
Restaurants and takeaways in Inverness have been donating meals to hard pressed NHS staff at Raigmore hospital as they battle Covid-19.
The initiative has grown from a Facebook page – Inverness Delivery and Takeaway – which was set up to let residents know which city businesses were delivering orders during the lockdown.
It was set up by furloughed Inverness Museum and Art Gallery attendant Amanda Da Silva who has previously worked in PR and marketing within the restaurant industry.
She said: "I created Inverness Delivery and Takeaway page when I had to self isolate and started to see businesses and people on social media struggling with how to keep going through the lockdown
"Restaurants that weren't necessarily a Takeaway place now having to change things up so they could keep going and people struggling to find delivery slots with the main supermarket chains looking for other businesses that might be delivering
"So I thought that it would be a helpful tool to create a group that would bring the two together. A place where I could share what businesses were offering and where people could have a list of places open and operating."
And, within a couple of weeks, she was contacted by Kay Cordiner, a charge nurse who works on the Combined Assessment Unit (CAU) wards at Raigmore hospital, who asked if there was a list of places which were doing NHS discounts as she was planning to treat her staff in recognition of all the hard work they were doing.
Miss Da Silva, who is originally from from Madeira Island, Portugal, said: "By this point the group was getting bigger so I thought why not put a post up asking if any of the local restaurants would like to make a food delivery/donation and to get in touch with me if they would like to do this – the response was unbelievable.
"The CAU wards were to be the main beneficiaries but as the response was so amazing I have been able to arrange donations to other wards like the children's ward, Radiology and Renal Unit among others.
"Many restaurants have now gone on to donate on a weekly basis and that is really amazing as most of these are small local restaurants.
"Hopefully with the help of the group page we will be able to see these wonderful eclectic businesses ride out this horrible time and all be there when we can go back to normality. I think many of the restaurants through now doing takeaway have actually been able to reach a new client base."
Businesses which are involved include: outlets like Heavenly Deli, Kool Runnings, Spicy Spot, Tortilla Asesina, Little Italy.
