Staff at a pub which is closed because of the coronavirus have got to work delivering meals to self-isolating neighbours.

The kind-hearted team at the Portobello Inn in West Kingsdown near Sevenoaks began ferrying fresh food to homes in the community before lockdown was imposed, sensing that some older people were struggling to get the supplies they needed amid outbreaks of panic buying.

Now demand for their home-cooked treats has soared - along with generous donations to a fundraising effort to keep their burgeoning meals on wheels service going during the crisis.

Landlady Charmain Powell, who has run the pub along with husband Steven since 2016, says the reaction to the delicious deliveries has been overwhelming.

"It's keeping us very busy," she said. "It's certainly keeping us going at the moment while the pub is closed.

"We are delivering around 200 meals every day that we go out, taking food to the over 70s and those who are self-isolating so are unable to leave the house. It's taking us about two hours to get to everyone, but it's getting a bit quicker now we know where everyone is.

"We would like to thank Community Cupboard in West Kingsdown, David Lloyd in Dartford, and Hayley Wayfield from Waitrose in Sevenoaks for all the food donations."

With social distancing guidelines imposed by the government forcing pubs, restaurants and hotels to close, this has given people in the hospitality trade the chance to get help support their communities. One volunteer at the Portobello Inn is a friend of the Powell's who cannot currently go to work as a chef.

The publicans have set up an online donation site which has so far raised almost £4,000 to help fund the deliveries from the pub.

It's a similar story for the team at the Chequers Inn in Aylesford, who are also out and about in the community delivering food and other essentials to those who might otherwise struggle to get out to the shops.

A crowdfunding page set up for the pub to support their work has attracted donations totalling more than £7,000.

Staff at Chilston Park Hotel in Maidstone have also done their bit to spread a little joy in the community when they took afternoon tea to the residents at Chippendayle Lodge Care Home in Harrietsham.

The boxes prepared by head chef Adrian Martin and his team contained scones, clotted cream, jam and pastries, plus some fresh produce of apples, lemons, oranges, bananas and eggs.

Hotel general manager Simon Barker said: "During this challenging time, we are committed more than ever to supporting our local community - people are the very heart of everything we do and engaging with our neighbours and vulnerable communities is in our DNA.

"Our doors may be temporarily closed at Chilston Park, but our dedicated team still wanted to thank the NHS team at Chippendayle Lodge Care home in Harrietsham, for all their hard work of taking care of others in their time of need. I am humbled that the team were able to bring a slice of our Classic Afternoon Tea experience to the team at our local nursing home. It’s our way of saying thank you."

A Maidstone Indian takeaway is offering free food for emergency service workers. If customers show ID they can receive a free biriani and vegetable curry when collecting from Al Amin in Union Street until May 4.

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