Duchess of Cornwall visits Sussex pharmacy and foodbank

Camilla Parker Bowles spent time at the Lewes and Uckfield sites to raise awareness of the work they continue to do during the coronavirus pandemic.

She met with volunteers from Fitzjohns Food Bank and Lewes Open Door at their base in Christ Church, Lewes, speaking with them about the challenges they had faced over the last 12 months.

There, the duchess also saw bags of food packed for delivery by volunteer delivery drivers, and watched on as donations came in from organisations in the area including hand sanitiser made by Brighton Gin.

Volunteer Tracey Cheeseman said: “Right now, our clients rely on us more than ever and we put a lot of thought into the food that we offer them.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall being shown food bags being packed ready for delivery to clients and joining Lewes Open Door volunteers in the kitchen as they prepare lunch Credit: Michelle Taylor

“I showed The duchess how we put our bags together and we talked about the importance of quality and meeting individual needs. I know that access to a food bank can make all the difference in difficult times and I was very pleased to have the chance to share my experience with Her Royal Highness.”

Camilla said it was “always a treat to come back to Sussex”, having visited Bolney Wine Estate and the Chailey Heritage Foundation in late 2019.

Next, she was introduced to representatives from Lewes Open Door who showed her the dining room being prepared in readiness for the daily lunch they serve their drop-in clients.

Belinda Crawford, trustee and Lewes Open Door volunteer, said: “We were very pleased to be able to talk to Her Royal Highness about our work supporting the homeless and vulnerable.

“She was interested to hear about the degree of need in what appears to be a relatively prosperous town.”

The Duchess of Cornwall meeting frontline pharmacy staff in Uckfield

The duchess also travelled to Uckfield to meet staff from several Kamsons Pharmacy sites in the area, learning about the incredible pressures they had faced during the ongoing health crisis, including the unprecedented demand for prescription delivery.

Bharat Chotai, director of Kamsons Pharmacy, said: “We were delighted to welcome the Duchess of Cornwall and she took a genuine interest in our staff who have continued to serve their local population throughout the last year in extremely difficult circumstances.

“We are also very proud of the loyalty of our staff and are delighted that their contribution has been recognised by Her Royal Highness.”

Her Royal Highness was then given a tour of the new Kamsons Pharmacy warehouse, which feature new “weasel” robots used to transport medicines across the building.

This more efficient system, the pharmacy group says, has allowed “the capacity of the warehouse to increase to delivering a million units of stock to the pharmacies each month”.