Ron Dennis donates £1M to provide free meals to NHS workers

Former McLaren boss Ron Dennis is contributing to the war against COVID-19, launching an initiative to help deliver free meals to front-line NHS workers.

Dennis has teamed up with food and catering expert Nigel Harris, owner of Absolute Taste, to set up SaluteTheNHS.org. Funded with a £1M donation from Dennis' DreamChasing foundation, the organization targets providing one million free meals to the UK's National Health Services front-lien workers.

"SaluteTheNHS.org has been created to help fight the war on Covid-19, bringing together results-driven professionals with deep experience in highly technical teamwork, strategic logistics, the production of safe, nutritious food and above all, the knowledge of what it takes to win," read a statement from the organization.

Dennis was alerted to one of the many issues facing NHS workers by the firsthand experience of his daughter Charlotte who is an anesthetist in an intensive care unit.

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"Charlotte came to me with a very human and personal problem, and the foundation aims to take this on. That's what this is all about," the firmer McLaren Group chairman told The Telegraph.

"She said the issue is that there are quantities of medical staff in a specific section which must stay in their clinical areas due to cross-contamination, which keeps them away from eating areas. By the time food gets to them it's cold.

"Frontline workers then come off duty and don't have time to shop, so have to choose between eating and sleeping. When you put medical staff on the front line, the very least you can do is feed them.

"This is a time when all of us, individuals and businesses alike, need to stand up and be counted in the effort to combat COVID-19," added the 72-year-old.

"We’re all in this together. I am delighted to be leading this initiative to help ensure that vital NHS workers have nutritious meals while they work every hour in this fight.

"It means they have one less thing to worry about. We have called this SalutetheNHS.org because I think we are all in awe of the work they are doing to save lives."

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SaluteTheNHS.org is partnering, among other companies, with Tesco which will supply food ingredients, and delivery service company Yodel.

"This is a huge logistical effort to build a major, professional food delivery operation almost from scratch in a week," Dennis explained.

"I have been so impressed by the fantastic things we have achieved together so far, but we need support from others, as well as ongoing donations to keep this whole operation going."

SalutetheNHS.org is calling for other supporters to donate or make a specific contribution as production grows, and is asking people to call the dedicated hotline on 0800 497 0797 or to visit the campaign’s Just Giving page.

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