Recommendation 18

Defra was chosen to lead on providing food to people shielding because, according to MHCLG, it had the expertise and relationships with the food industry.42 Defra consulted with supermarkets and wholesalers, to understand their capacity to provide people with food, nationally and quickly. Defra told us that it was very clear supermarkets did not have the capacity, and so it had used wholesalers direct.43 Food box deliveries started five days after the start of shielding, on 27 March, and went to 510,486 clinically extremely vulnerable people from then to 1 August, when the programme was paused. Overall, Defra spent £200.2 million on the food support service up to 1 August 2020.44 MHCLG told us that it had asked local authorities to provide those shielding with ‘supplementary food’ for people with dietary requirements.45