Prince Harry and Meghan Markle deliver meals to people in need amid coronavirus pandemic

Duke and duchess first volunteered to deliver food on Easter Sunday

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Thursday 16 April 2020 20:29 BST
Comments
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle volunteer for non-profit in LA (Getty)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle volunteer for non-profit in LA (Getty)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have volunteered to help distribute meals to those in need amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who recently relocated to Los Angeles, California, volunteered with Project Angel Food, a non-profit organisation that prepares healthy meals for people impacted by serious illness, according to executive director Richard Ayoub.

“In honour of the Easter holiday, the duke and duchess spent Sunday morning volunteering with Project Angel Food,” Mr Ayoub said in a statement shared to Instagram. “And on Wednesday they quietly continued delivering meals to relieve our overworked drivers.

“It was their way to thank our volunteers, chefs and staff who have been working tirelessly since the Covid-19 crisis began.”

Of the couple’s decision to volunteer with the organisation, Mr Ayoub told People: “We’re completely honoured.”

Describing the couple as “extremely down to Earth and genuinely interested in every single person they met,” Mr Ayoub said they wanted to make sure that “people felt the love and appreciation”.

“What Meghan said is she wanted to show Harry Los Angeles through the eyes of philanthropy. It’s just beautiful … Our clients are clients who are often forgotten. They really wanted to go visit these people. They wanted to see them and talk to them and hopefully put a smile on their faces,” he continued.

According to Mr Ayoub, the couple chose to volunteer with Project Angel Food at the suggestion of Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland.

After taking six deliveries during the weekend, Mr Ayoub said the duke and duchess wanted to help again “so they took 14 deliveries on Wednesday”.

In addition to helping deliver the meals, Mr Ayoub said the couple, who wore masks and gloves and followed social distancing guidelines, also wanted to learn about the organisation’s clients and how the “medically-tailored” food is made.

As for the response to having food delivered by the couple, Mr Ayoub told CNN one of the organisation’s recipients did not recognise the couple at first - as they were dressed “so casually”.

“That's not how you expect to see them," he said. "You don't expect to see them at your door."

The duke and duchess are also doing what they can to help charitable organisations in the UK as the coronavirus pandemic continues, despite no longer living there.

This week, it was revealed that the couple have donated the profits made from their wedding broadcast to the charity Feeding Britain, which helps provide families in need with food.

In response, Andrew Forsey, Feeding Britain's national director, called the donation of more than £90,000 a “godsend”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in