London, Apr 17 (IANS): Premier League club Chelsea will provide 78,000 meals to the National Health Service (NHS) and charities that support the elderly and vulnerable groups amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the club said on Thursday that the initiative is aimed at helping NHS staff who are working long shifts at five local hospitals.

The meals will be provided to Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust across their five local hospitals, including St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, Charing Cross Hospital in Fulham and Hammersmith Hospital.

Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck said: "We are and have always been committed to supporting our communities, especially the vulnerable, and at this time we recognise this is more important than ever."

"Our owner, Roman Abramovich, has been instrumental in challenging us to find ways to support those in need and after we successfully launched the Refuge campaign and made the Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge available to the NHS, this was the priority so I am pleased to see it begin," he added.

The club said that it would also be working alongside charity partners to support the elderly, those in sheltered accommodation and vulnerable groups. "These include Age UK, The Smile Brigade, Unity Works, and other housing units in London."