A team of drivers will be delivering the parcels to families who have been identified as being most in need at this challenging time.

The parcels contain essential food items such as pasta, cereal, rice, milk, bread and fruit. We’ve also included recipes for families and tips on safe storage of food.

The emergency food parcel deliveries follow on from our catering service donating over 10,000 perishable food items from school kitchens to food banks and local care homes.

Adam McVey, council leader, said: “These food parcels are going to be critical in helping our most vulnerable families at this unprecedented time. Many of them are under huge pressures, struggling with living at home and burdened with financial worries so it’s vital we do everything we can to support them.

“This is in addition to the thousands of meals being distributed around the city by voluntary organisations right now and we’ll continue working with EVOC and Volunteer Edinburgh to coordinate this effort as it grows to support people in our communities in the coming weeks.”

Cammy Day, depute leader, added: “Getting regular, good nutritious food will make a big difference to their daily lives as many will be finding it difficult to buy basic items they need to feed their families. Thanks must go the different Council teams who have all pulled together to help our families most in need.”

• Read all of our articles relating to COVID-19 here.