BUSINESSES in the Covered Market have been lending a helping hand to NHS staff working on critical care wards.

Bonners Oxford Fruit and Vegetables and the Oxford Sandwich Company, based in the Covered Market, paired up with the Oxford Hospital Charity to deliver fruit and vegetable baskets, as well as wellbeing boxes for the nurses.

Verity Piggott, who owns Bonners with her husband Gordon, said that they ‘wanted to help’ as soon as the charity contacted them.

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Mrs Piggott said: “Oxford Hospital Charity got in touch with us, as a business, to see if there was anything we could do to help staff working on critical care wards.

“At the beginning, we did not know exactly what they wanted, but we knew we wanted to help.”

Since the pandemic began the charity has received ‘a lot of donations’ to be used towards helping those working on Covid wards.

Mrs Piggott added: “The charity thought it would be a good idea to give the staff nutritional snacks whilst they are working.

“We were asked originally if we could do a big delivery of fruit to the ward, and then also an afternoon-tea styled basket and a well-being box.

“As we are a very small business we reached out to the Oxford Sandwich Company to see if they wanted to help.”

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Bonners creates the fruit boxes for the staff each week, whilst the Oxford Sandwich Company provides snack boxes and wellbeing items.

Together the two businesses will be delivering 18 food boxes every week, including two boxes to the Churchill Hospital, four to the Warneford Hospital, and one to the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.

The remaining boxes go to the John Radcliffe hospital.

Rachel Gill, the owner of the Oxford Sandwich Company, said it is ‘important for businesses to give back to their local communities.

She said: “I was approached by Verity as we are neighbours in the market, and she asked if we were able to help provide the baskets.

“We are a very new business, we opened a couple of weeks before the second lockdown, and we’ve been up against it recently, but the charity is close to our hearts, because we, as a family, have benefited a lot from NHS care.”

Ms Gill is creating the afternoon-tea sets for the hospitals, as well as well-being boxes for the nurses.

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The well-being boxes will contain items such as lip balms, hand creams, chocolates, and ‘fancy teas and coffees'.

The owner of the sandwich shop added: “We did free school meals in the half-term and we think it is very important to give back to the community.

“The market is a great community and that gives back, so we have fit into its ethos quite nicely.

“We were excited to be part of this project for many reasons, but mainly because we think it is really important that the nurses feel that they are valued and that the community thinks of them.”

The businesses will drop-off the fruit baskets and wellbeing boxes every Tuesday for the next six weeks.

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