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Posted on 19 Jun 2020

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bar Iberico, a well- known and popular Nottingham Tapas restaurant, started crowdfunding with the aim of raising £18,500 to cook 10,000 meals for people in Nottingham facing a food crisis, including children, the elderly, the vulnerable, the homeless and NHS staff.

50,000 people were facing a food crisis in Nottingham, with parents unable to feed their children, elderly people living in fear, wondering where their next meal was coming from, NHS workers skipping meals due to long and difficult shifts, the homeless unable to access food or shelter and the vulnerable unable to care for themselves without anyone able to go in and support them.

Covid-19 caused the restaurant industry to collapse, preventing the Bar from opening for months, but they fought back by volunteering their time and kitchen to cook meals for those in need across the community.

However, after 8 weeks money was running out fast and so the local mental health and community Trust decided to lend a helping hand. Nottinghamshire Healthcare sponsored Bar Iberico to the tune of £10,000, allowing them to continue with their great work in supporting the vulnerable in Nottingham. In return the Bar agreed to link from its website to the Trust’s mental health helpline, as many vulnerable people have expressed their fears and anxieties about the current situation and the Trust is are able to offer them some support.

John Brewin is Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare: “I heard about the great work that the staff at Bar Iberico were doing and also that they were at risk of running out of money. It was such a fabulous initiative that I was eager to help if we could. The people Dan and his team are supporting are those who very often come into contact with our services, so it made perfect sense to work in partnership. I’m delighted that we have been able to help, not only with the sponsorship, but also signposting vulnerable people in our community to services that might be able to help them. This is the type of project that helps us all to get through what have been very difficult times and I am glad we have been able to help.”

Dan Lindsay is the Co-owner of Bar Iberico: “We still can’t believe the generosity of our local Trust! It’s quite staggering and we were all a bit taken aback. When I told the person responsible for setting the scheme up he was speechless! The money will do so much good in the community and allows us and our colleagues at Iberico World Tapas to continue this wonderful project. We’re really proud of what we have been able to do, but it was looking like we would have to scale down due to a lack of funding. This incredible sponsorship deal is a great partnership to support vulnerable people in the community and I hope we can continue working together. The Trust’s and other people’s kindness and generosity is making a huge difference to many people in our community every day!”

There are many kitchens across the UK working for free to feed their community as part of the Open Kitchens initiative. You can show your support by visiting the Open Kitchens website and help spread the word by following Open Kitchens on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn. More information is available on the Bar Iberico website.