PubAid, the organisation dedicated to promoting pubs as a force for good in their communities, has gathered a selection of stories of pubs who are helping their communities in a variety of ways.
The organisation’s co-founder, Des O’Flanaghan, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic may have closed pubs for now, but their support for their local communities remains undiminished as licensees up and down the country adapt to offer local people practical, social, and emotional support to help them weather this unprecedented crisis.
“If ever there were proof that pubs are a force for good in their communities, this is surely it!”
How are publicans helping?
When Mother’s Day became an early Covid-19 casualty, Brawns Den, in Durham, donated all the food it had planned to serve to families to local food banks.
In similar vein, The Cross Keys, in Coleorton in Leicestershire, delivered 50 lunches, from pizzas to Sunday roasts, to the community on Mother’s Day.
The Old White Bear, in Keighley, had taken 129 bookings for Mother’s Day, but rather than let down its customers, it made all the meals available for takeaway instead, and is continuing to operate a take-out service.
When The Falcon, in Prudhoe, Northumberland, had to close its doors, it gave all its excess food to local residents.
The Myrtle Tavern, in Leeds, has stepped up to support the vulnerable in their local community, dropping off care packages to people self-isolating or unable to shop for themselves. Packages contain vital supplies — tea, milk, biscuits, toilet roll, and a bottle of Guinness!
The Plough and Harrow, in Leytonstone, has donated soft drinks to the local hospital for staff to enjoy on shift, and alcoholic drinks for those who want to take them home. It has also donated to other key workers, such as post workers and refuse collectors, and has set up a Facebook page encouraging other pubs to offer the same support for the NHS.
Pedal power is delivering pub meals to residents in Addingham, Ilkley. Jon and Amy, licensees at The Swan in the village, have invested in a bike to bring their tasty pub meals, cooked from fresh, to local people.
Lesters, in Margate, has made its car park available only to NHS workers at the nearby hospital, who are also benefiting from the pub’s take-away food service. Licensee Barry is doing all he can to support the community, despite being in his 70s.
The temporary shop at the White Hart, Nettlebed
Licensee Carole, at The Clifton Arms, in Blackburn, raised more than £400 from the pub’s community in just half an hour and bought fruit boxes from a local producer to be delivered to the NHS staff at the local hospital. In the last week, the pub also delivered more than 40 essential boxes to those who are in isolation or unable to leave home.
The White Hart, in Nettlebed near Henley, has set up a shop in the pub, offering vital supplies to local residents, and is cooking a daily hot meal, ready for collection if ordered the day before. A poll on the Nettlebed Facebook page, asking residents if they wanted the shop to continue. got 127 votes in favour and none against! Good work by licensee Ted Docherty and his team of live-in staff, who are working on a voluntary basis to serve the local community.
The aptly-named Who’d Have Thought It, in St Dominick, Cornwall, is offering take-away and home delivery to the local community, and donating £1 for every order to a newly-established food bank, offering vital supplies to the vulnerable. Great community support from licensee Tracey Fleming and her team.
The Blue Ball, in Braunston, Northamptonshire, has been making up food boxes for the local community. Licensees Dom and Pip also set up a fund so that people can make a donation to purchase a box for those in financial hardship.
The Chestnut Group of 11 pubs in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Essex has adapted its offer with freshly-cooked meals available for collection and delivery, live pub quizzes, Q and A sessions with the pub chefs on social media, and online bread-making demos. It has also opened shops at the Three Blackbirds, near Newmarket, and Globe Inn, Wells.
To help keep customers socially connected through the lockdown, The Fleece Inn, Skipton, has moved its weekly Tuesday pub quiz online, with quizzers able to see licensee Tim read out the questions. And The Portsmouth Arms, in Basingstoke, is running two quizzes a day — one for children at 5pm, and one for adults at 8pm. Around 4,500 people tuned in on the first day!
At The Bull & Bush, in Shepshed, Essex, licensees Laura and Nez have set up a Facebook group for their regulars to share quizzes, music and more.
