Ludlow Racecourse feeds volunteers to support country’s vaccination effort

The vaccination centre at Ludlow Racecourse uses the Clive Pavilion and the team has also erected two marquees. The centre opened on Monday 1 February, with 300 residents from local care homes arriving first. Each day the NHS vaccination team is able to increase their capacity; by the end of this week they will be up to 1,000 per day and going forward 1,500 per day.

Diane Thomas, Assistant Manager at Ludlow Racecourse said: “We have lots of volunteers directing and manning the car park. We also have the RAF and firefighters helping out. The hours are 8am-8pm, so a very long day for the NHS and volunteers. Some do have shifts, but we do have some doing the whole shift, seven days a week.

“So we decided to feed them all for free! We put something out there on social media asking for help. We had a massive response – money and groceries! Tesco’s, bakeries, dairies, all came on board. We have been lent a wonderful coffee machine, so we can keep the team going with a lovely coffee or hot chocolate. The NHS and volunteers can now have breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus snacks throughout the day!

“We have a wonderful bunch of volunteers who work in shifts to man our pop-up café. It has certainly put a smile on the workers’ faces, as they have somewhere warm and comfortable to rest while eating a meal for free!

“We have a delivery of pizzas every Thursday, as much milk as we need, bread delivered every day. Locals are making cakes & local businesses delivering meat, fresh veg & drinks!”