Pub provides over 3,000 hot meals to staff at mass Covid vaccination centre in Cornwall
The Golden Lion has been helping to feed NHS workers and volunteers every day
The team at a Cornish pub have been providing hot meals for staff at one of Cornwall's mass Covid vaccination centres every day since it opened.
Mark and Sarah Sear, who run the Golden Lion pub, have donated hot meals every day to the 60-strong team of NHS workers and volunteers at the Stithians Showground since the site opened in January.
To date the couple have served up more than 3,000 meals to the vaccination team – more than the population of the village.
Tamsyn Scoble, clinical matron for Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We cannot thank Mark and Sarah enough.
“The vaccination centre is quite a distance from shops or supermarkets and our vaccination teams who were working on shifts were going to find it difficult to get a takeaway hot meal. Mark and Sarah have ensured that everyone who wanted to have a hot meal, had forgotten or run out of time to bring their own could have one.
“Their generosity has really boosted morale, especially through the cold winter days. Come rain, hail or snow, Sarah, Mark and their team have been here with smiles on their faces, making sure we all had the fuel we needed to keep us going. Our staff tell us what a happy place it is here to work, and I know it is partly because of the fantastic free meals.”
Sarah said that they were more than happy to do their bit to support the vaccination programme.
She said: “When the country was locked down last March, we felt strongly that we had to help out somehow. As a village pub we are committed to supporting the community in any way we can and we didn’t want the pandemic to stop that. We have a commercial kitchen, and we couldn’t have it sat there unused, so with the help of local donations we have been able to provide food for frontline workers and vulnerable people throughout the pandemic.”
Pubs and restaurants can now reopen and serve outdoor customers, as of Monday 12th April.
As the pub welcomes back customers it’s calling time on its delivery service to Stithians, but the vaccination team say they couldn’t let Mark and Sarah make their final drop-off last week without saying thank you, and clubbed together to buy a bench for the pub garden.
Tamsyn added: “We just want to say thank you to Mark, Sarah and their team. They have come in like little fairies each day to look after us. Nothing has been too much trouble; they have been open to requests and dietary requirements. We’re sad that they are leaving, but they now have a new challenge ahead of them, opening for the summer trade. We are so happy to give them the bench as something that will last forever and bring a smile whenever someone sits on it.”