Northampton pub sets up town centre food bank and can deliver to housebound people

A Northampton pub has opened a food bank in the town centre to help those in need and who might have been affected by selfish shoppers as supermarket shelves are stripped amid coronavirus panic.

The Mailcoach, on Derngate, will open their doors to people wanting to access the food bank between 2pm and 4pm every day, from Friday, March 20.

Their revised opening hours means the pub won't be open at that time but those wanting access to the food and cleaning supplies are asked to knock on the door.

It was the idea of pub manager, Ed Harper, who wanted to give back to the community who has helped the pub he manages over the years.

Ed said: "I've been shopping and just seen how selfish some people are being.

"So this is about offering a little bit of help. We rely on our community to keep us going throughout the year and this is just the right thing to do.

"We are relying on people being honest and we will put a sensible limit on what people can take."

Ed has already kickstarted the donations by spending £100 at the cash and carry, regular customers given what they can and some local businesses have said they will give if they have surplus food.

"The amount of shares and likes we've had on Facebook and Instagram has been quite encouraging but we do need people to give us what they can."

The pub, like many up and down the country, is making adaptions to the way it's serving food as it launches a takeaway service where customers can order pizzas, burgers and even beer with a ten per cent off discount.

The pub is now open between Monday and Wednesday between 4pm and 10.30pm and between Thursday and Sunday the pub will open from 12 noon and 10.30pm.

Ambient foods, tinned goods and cleaning products can be dropped off while the pub is open after 4pm, or to arrange a different time or appointment if you need food dropping off to your home, message the pub through their Facebook page.