Nation’s top dog marks Wheatley’s milestone delivery to people in need

Wheatley Group has delivered more than 25,000 emergency food parcels to people at crisis point throughout the pandemic.

The marathon effort by Scotland’s largest housing and regeneration group has helped tenants facing hardship since lockdown began, as well as their families and in some instances even their pets.

Olly the whippet has played a key role in the coronavirus mercy mission in his community and marked the 25,000th delivery by Wheatley’s EatWell service as the Group announced an additional option to support people still in need.

People living in a Wheatley home with nowhere else to turn can now receive a supermarket voucher from EatWell instead of a food parcel. The voucher for Tesco or Asda can be sent directly to a mobile phone as soon as the recipient has been approved for the service, meaning they can get help even more quickly.

Olly was the face of an appeal for pet food in Dumfries and Galloway. The appeal provided 3,000 dog meals to EatWell and other community organisations in Dumfries and Galloway – and led to Olly being voted Scotland’s Top Lockdown Dog Hero in a Daily Record poll last month.

Wheatley customer Marc Cherry has three dogs and recently benefitted from some dog food which he said was a huge help.  

He said: “Things got pretty hard for us recently and the dog food, along with a food parcel, really helped. My three dogs, Akira, Junior and Lexi, mean the world to us, they are family, and this was a real weight off our minds.

“They can get through a lot of food, so this really did make a huge difference to us as a family.”  

Sir Harry Burns, Chair of the Wheatley Foundation, said: “Our EatWell service has been a lifeline to so many individuals and families facing continuing hardship.

“It’s been one of the most important ways we’ve been able to help our most vulnerable customers in these difficult times.”

The 25,000 emergency food parcels delivered by Wheatley’s EatWell service since the end of March, includes around 18,800 to customers in and around Glasgow, 3,500 in Edinburgh, and over 2,700 in Dumfries and Galloway.

With the help of £350,000 funding from the Scottish Government, as well as donations from contractors and suppliers, Wheatley has invested more than £1million in the EatWell service.