South Asian foods group Vibrant Foods has announced a partnership with the Felix Project to provide one million meals to vulnerable communities this year through its brand-new social kitchen, Felix’s Kitchen.
This will include 100,000 meals over the summer holidays while schools are closed.
The food redistribution charity has launched Felix’s Kitchen in July to cook meals using donated food. Vibrant Foods is the first business to commit to regular donations of core ingredients to kitchen. The TRS, East End Foods and Fudco branded spices and pulses will help produce 6,000 nutritious meals every day for children and families across East London.
Meals will be delivered across Tower Hamlets, East London, where 55 per cent of children live in poverty – more than double the UK and European averages.
“We know the Felix Project team well and have always been inspired by the work they do. Food poverty is an issue that plagues millions of households in the UK, yet too often goes unnoticed,” Rohit Samani, executive chairman at Vibrant Foods, said.
“This is a cause we feel very strongly about and we realise how important non-surplus food will be in making Felix’s Kitchen a success. We’re proud to be supporting the Felix Project in their new venture.”
The commitment by Vibrant Foods also means the charity will receive for the first time regular deliveries of non-surplus food. Traditionally, the Felix Project has collected and distributed surplus food that cannot be sold, but it is now calling on supermarkets, independent traders, and food producers for additional non-surplus food donations to scale up production.
The Felix Project hopes to eventually increase production at its kitchen to 1.5 million meals a year, and called on the food industry to provide additional support required for this.
“Today is a big moment for Felix’s Kitchen and we’re incredibly grateful to Vibrant Foods for the commitment they’ve made. But we know we can’t stop here – so we’re making a plea to the industry for non-surplus food donations that will help us achieve our goals,” Rachel Ledwith, head of community engagement at the Felix Project, said.
“Current issues in the UK’s food supply chain, as well as the economic fallout of the pandemic, mean impoverished households are relying on us now more than ever before.”
