Local businesses and venue operators on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park are donating goods, delivering food and medicines and providing online support to help some of the most vulnerable people and key workers in the area during the lockdown.

Delaware North, who operate food and beverage services at London Stadium, has donated more than £20,000 worth of stock that would have been served to fans watching the action at the venues summer events. In total 8,600 soft drinks, 3,200 bags of crisps, 4,000 bags of monkey nuts and 50 boxes of confectionary have been delivered to the Nightingale Hospital London, the Felix Project, North West London Hospital Trust, Worcestershire Acute & Community Hospital and other local food delivery services.

Barge East, a floating bar and restaurant moored on the canal in Hackney Wick, is donating 200kg of food each week to Bow Food Bank. The company is also providing 120 meals for NHS staff and key workers working at local hospitals, predominantly Homerton hospital, and offering a not for profit fresh produce box service for locals with free delivery for key workers and vulnerable people. Staff are also volunteering on various other external projects including delivering medicines to those who cannot leave their houses. 

The London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement (LORCA) based at Here East’s Innovation centre Plexal, have launched applications for its fifth cohort of cyber-scaleups. The selection criteria focuses on companies which aim to solve issues brought to the fore by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as tackling disinformation and improving the security of remote working. The deadline for applications is Monday, 4 May at 5pm UK time via LORCA.co.uk/apply.
 
In addition, Here East has donated some of its car parking spaces to the London Borough of Hackney to use to support key workers, particularly those working at Homerton Hospital. Both UCL and Hobs 3D printing based at Here East, are utilising the in-house manufacturing capacity to mass produce Personal Protective Equipment for the NHS. 

Badu Sports is running online exercise classes for young people in the area, offering a phone service providing mental health support and running a foodbank delivering to over 350 local people. Bikeworks, an organisation that usually runs all-ability cycling sessions on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, has repurposed its bike taxi service to deliver food and medicine to vulnerable people in east London.
                                                                                                                                                                                 
The Copper Box Arena and London Aquatics Centre – run by social enterprise GLL under its Better brand - have donated more than 90 cases of soft drinks and 400 bags of snacks to Community Food Enterprise (CFE), a food hub charity in Newham. BH Live - the social enterprise that runs the café at London Aquatics Centre, provides event catering at both venues in a joint venture with GLL. Both organisations have been working with CFE to donate surplus stock for the benefit of the local community.

Nina Mehmi, Community Sport and Outreach Manager, London Legacy Development Corporation, said: “Everyone is pulling together in these difficult times to give something back to the community. It’s great to see organisations we support as part of our legacy work adapting to help local people in different ways and for our venue operators to be so generous. It really shows the importance of supporting local organisations who are part of the communities living on and around the Park.”