Softcat backing charity battling coronavirus-induced food poverty

The Covid-19 cornonavirus pandemic has already sparked some amazing examples of public spiritedness, with Captain Tom raising millions through walking, and the nation pausing at 8pm every Thursday to clap for our carers.

There are also an increasing number of efforts being made by the channel to do their bit to provide support during this crucial period.

Last week, SCC revealed that it had stepped up to help develop and maintain a national PPE training site for Cambridge University Hospitals free of charge – and it is not the only reseller trying to make a difference.

Reseller Softcat has identified food poverty as a major concern during the pandemic and is backing a campaign that will raise money to help “feed the Nation in isolation”.

The idea to reach out to the “food poor” has been devised by Josh Littlejohn, founder of the charity Social Bite, and has the full backing of Softcat CEO Graeme Watt.

Social Bite has repurposed its kitchens and cafes to produce and deliver food to those in need for the length of the outbreak. The campaign started in Scotland but funds are being raised to support food banks across the rest of the UK.

Those targeted by the campaign include the homeless, families that rely on free school meals, and those who have been made redundant due to Covid-19 and are in desperate need of support.

“Softcat has a long history of supporting charities which work to improve the lives of people in the local community, but the Social Bite campaign is one that really moved us. All of us have had to sacrifice something as part of the government lockdown, but food is a necessity,” said Watt.

“Our Softcat team are getting right behind it and we already have Cisco and other big industry names on board and committed to supporting it. Our ambition is to make it go viral across the industry and the whole country. It is such a fun, simple yet effective campaign, so I am urging all our IT colleagues to unite with us and support Social Bite to help ‘feed the nation in isolation’,” he added.

Littlejohn, founder of Social Bite, said that the charity has stepped up during the pandemic and, since 20 March, has been producing and sharing food with homeless and vulnerable people. 

“We have so far given away an incredible 100,000 emergency food packs, but are looking to scale up our production from 4,500 to 6,500 packs every single day from now until the end of June. We are so grateful to have Graeme and the Softcat teams support to help spread the word and raise needed funds during this challenging time for many families stuck in isolation,” he said.