28 Aug 2024 | Updated 02 Dec 2024
Following an unprecedented halt to passenger and freight traffic crossing the channel into France, over 5,000 lorries were left without access to food, water or basic amenities across Kent county. In response, Khalsa Aid coordinated with several local organisations to help the stranded drivers, in an extraordinary display of community action.
Late on Sunday 20th December 2020, the French government banned all freight and passenger traffic from the UK from entering the country, in response to concerns about the super-spreading new coronavirus variant found in South East of England. Kent Police were fast to mobilise Operation Stack - a system to park lorries along the length of the M20 in response to one of the most significant border emergencies seen on UK soil.
The following day, Monday 21 December 2020, the team at Khalsa Aid loaded up vans with bottled water and snacks and set off to Kent to deliver supplies to the increasingly delayed drivers. After a meeting with local authority representatives, the team ramped up operations and reached out to partner organisations to help meet the scale of the challenge to feed the masses.
Volunteers at Guru Nanak Gurudwara in Gravesend were one such partner, able to, with just a few hours’ notice, freshly prepare 300 tomato and mushroom pasta dishes and 500 chickpea and rice curries. All of which were ready for distribution on Tuesday 22 December.
Over the following five days, over 8,000 freshly prepared meals were distributed to the stranded truck drivers working in co-ordination with Kent Police, the British Army and HM Coastguard. In total over 5,000 freshly cooked warm meals were prepared by volunteers at Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Gravesend, Kent alone.
"The drivers are very happy to see us and the food. It's tough for them not knowing what's happening. I've seen how a hot meal can lift people. It’s a long day for our volunteers, we were all tired but unlike the drivers, we will still go home to a warm bed."
Our team from Langar Aid in Coventry prepared 1,000 sandwiches and travelled 338 kilometres to help deliver meals for drivers. 2,500 pizzas were also kindly donated by Dominos UK via Kent-based Dhillon Group, who helped with the distribution.
"We've had really good support from communities around the place to provide food. We're really appreciative of those who have brought food. There's been a lot of positives from this - people coming together to give support."
The response to the crisis in Kent has been an astonishing example of how collaborative approaches to aid have a powerful impact. Working with local experts and food providers. Khalsa Aid was able to ensure that every single driver was able to access food and water with very little delay.