Former One Direction singer Liam Payne has donated the equivalent of 360,000 meals to food banks around the UK to help those affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Most of the UK population are currently in lockdown as part of a national effort to slow the spread of the disease, bringing financial uncertainty for those unable to seamlessly work from home.
The use of food banks, which provide free food items to members of the local community in need, has inevitably risen in recent weeks, prompting Payne to team up with the Trussell Trust to bolster their reserves.
The majority of the meals will go to food banks in his home county of the West Midlands, but supplies will also reach Bristol, Nottingham and Sheffield.
"It's not right that anyone in our country is unable to afford food. Food banks do incredible work to help the people most in need of support," Payne said.
"It's vital that we get support to those people right now, as this crisis unfolds. The Trussell Trust is working with food banks across the country to ensure emergency help is there for people who don't have money for the basics.
"But I'm also donating because of the work they do to work towards a future where no one needs a food bank – we can't end the conversation with getting emergency food to people – as vital as that is.
"When we're out the other side of this, we need to look at why there are people in our country who don't have enough money for food. I want to play my part in finding a solution to ensure people have enough money to buy their own food - and end the need for food banks."
More than 14,500 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK so far - including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince Charles - while 759 people have lost their lives.
Neil Wilkes
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