Ayesha Pakravan-Ovey, 26 and from London, began as the owner of 'The Plattery', a catering service set up in 2019 in London, offering platters and food boxes made by professional chefs with a fresh take on grazing tables, coming together with homemade and exciting food. As the catering company was hit by Covid19, Ayesha decided to continue to support her community and tackle food poverty.
In Lockdown, Ayesha launched 'Vital Meals', and their 'Parcel to Plate' service, collecting food parcels from doors and delivering fresh, home cooked meals in return. She came up with the idea to help the vulnerable during this challenging time, cooking meals in her own home before moving to a bigger kitchen, and delivering them. All to ensure those who need support still have access to nutritious food for free. Tens of thousands have been cooked and delivered to those in need during isolation across London, and over 200 meals are cooked a day.
Ayesha continues to run the service with aspirations of expanding and developing cooking classes for children, and expresses that although this is about survival, it's also about making isolation less lonely and coming together to support each other during this pandemic. It began as a venture to support the elderly and high risk, but has since developed by offering a minimum of six meals to anyone who may be in need, including key workers, NHS staff, children, those on a low income, homeless shelters and more. They are now a registered charity.
At first, 'Vital Meals' was funded with the minimal profits Ayesha received from 'The Plattery' catering service, but as demand has increased, Ayesha has set up a JustGiving page (https://uk.gofundme.com/f/Vitalmeals) as a way of accepting any donations the public can give to support the service and its continuation, both Ayesha and the volunteer workers are determined to help as many people as they can and any small donation will make a huge difference. 'Parcel to Plate' is the food delivery service for those who may be struggling to get food on the table or are unable to cook for themselves. 'Vital Voices' is also part of the service, telephone support for anyone who may be feeling lonely during this isolating and taxing time.
IN CONVERSATION WITH 'CALLIE COOKE':
'It's quite amazing what can come from social media, a pandemic, and a little bit of lunch!'
Callie Cooke, 25, an actor from Leicester, living in London (Credits include: Netflix's 'The Stranger', Channel 4's 'Adult Material', and Amazon and Sky's 'Britannia') volunteered with 'Vital Meals' with the selfless act of supporting the service and working during lockdown.
Callie was in the middle of filming when lockdown hit, she was faced with her film set immediately shutting down and began to question how she could support others in need during this daunting and difficult time that was suddenly thrust upon us. 'I was very bored not working so suddenly and wanted to help. I felt the sense of community was pretty epic, clapping the NHS and supporting each other coming together' she says.
'From a personal point of view, both of my sisters are on their knees working hard for the NHS and all my family are key workers, so I sort of felt a bit useless and started to consider what I could do'.
HER EXPERIENCE WITH 'VITAL MEALS':
'I found out about 'Vital Meals' after sending out a tweet', she explains. 'I tweeted simply stating that if anyone in my area or postcode range needed a hand with things like getting hold of shopping, medication, necessities or any form of support, then I'm happy to help. I tagged a couple of support pages that were set up in my area in the aim of increasing its exposure'.
'I got a very decent response!' she exclaims. 'Ayesha then messaged me personally asking if I would be around for a call and we had a chat, she explained to me about what she's doing. They were also delivering to hospitals and NHS staff and after listening it was definitely something I wanted to do'.
'Luckily I could offer a lot of help as I have a car', she told me. 'Then it was all pretty quick. After giving us PPE and sorting that side of things, I went to her house. Obviously I didn't go in, but we filled up my car.' 'I mean... head to toe! There must've been about 90 meals in my car'. She laughs.
'My first job was then driving to St George's Hospital in Tooting, we delivered all these meals!'. 'As the weeks went on, more and more volunteers were getting involved and we started working off of a rota, sometimes we did 4 or 5 drops a day!' she shares.
'I loved it!' she declared. 'We went to some crazy places. Small flats with families crammed in and lonely people who hadn't seen others for months, wanting to chat to us. I had an old lady breakdown to me saying that we were her only lifeline and thing she had to look forward to was to see us.' 'Sometimes it was tough... but it was amazing. I shared stories and experiences with my own family to help them gain a sense of perspective sometimes to. It put so much into perspective'.
'One thing I never expected was the huge sense of community within the group', she smiles. 'I've honestly made some friends for life, working with a bunch of strangers all wanting to help out.'
'I know lockdown was hard for everyone for different reasons, for me more than anything I felt quite useless so it was helpful to have a bit of a purpose, to contribute towards supporting others, and I was really helping people', she grins.
CALLIE'S ADVICE ON HOW TO GET INVOLVED:
'For anyone that hasn't done it, if you can... I know that not everyone can during this time, but for those who may be struggling, I encourage it more than anything', she exclaims. 'There's nothing like giving, throwing yourself in with a bunch of strangers and getting on, to have that purpose during a time where the world is giving us none is quite amazing.'
'You can get involved by contacting Ayesha at 'Vital Meals if you wish to volunteer, or donate on the JustGiving Page to keep this brilliant service going'.
It's a challenging time for us all, any selfless and giving acts can have a huge impact on someone else's day... as well as your own.
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