Felix Project is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ...

that saves surplus food from suppliers and redistributes it to charities. It has the dual aim to help reduce food surplus. The

Waste & Resources Action Programme WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a British registered charity. It works with businesses, individuals and communities to achieve a circular economy, by helping them reduce waste, develop sustainable products and use resources in an effi ...

(abbr. WRAP) estimate that 10 million tonnes of food was thrown away in the UK in 2016 and help relieve food poverty (Sustain estimate 18% or one in five London pupils are at risk of hunger every day.

Work

The Felix Project redistributes food that supermarkets, wholesalers and other suppliers cannot sell for a variety of reasons, ranging from seasonal gluts and packaging defects, to changes in customer orders. It sorts and delivers food, free of charge, direct to local kitchens, community halls, schools, day centres and food banks. The charities provide meals, snacks or food parcels for their clients who include the elderly, the homeless, those with mental health issues, refugees and asylum seekers, families and children. Ten staff and nearly 200 volunteers provide food for over 1 million meals a year, working with 90 suppliers and 120 charities. A fleet of 10 vans operate from depots in Park Royal (West London), Central London and Enfield (North London). As well as redistributing food Felix's Kitchen in Bow, East London, uses donated fresh produce to create circa 1,300 "ready meals" a day. Supervised by professional chefs the kitchen produces an ever changing menu of five or six different packaged meals daily, including vegetarian and vegan options.

History

The Felix Project was founded in July 2016, in memory of ''Felix Byam Shaw'' who died suddenly from

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion ...

. It started with a van and a depot in

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...

. A new depot in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

opened in November 2017. In 2018, weekly food deliveries to primary schools started with Stanhope Primary School, and a green scheme for cyclists and walkers to collect and deliver food in a courier bag.

Campaigns

The

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

and

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

's 2017 Christmas Appeal raised £1,049,896 for the Felix Project's ''Help a Hungry Child Programme'' to establish 'market stalls' in primary schools, to help channel surplus food from suppliers directly to those young children and their families who are in the greatest need. The aim is to ensure no child in any primary school supported by the charity goes hungry. 56 Team Felix runners took part in The Big Half, London’s new half-marathon. Collaboration with top London chefs aims to raise the profile of high-quality gastronomy and show the value of surplus food to encourage social inclusion. This includes partnering with Refettorio Felix at St Cuthbert’s Centre, a community kitchen founded by chef Massimo Bottura, and being the official charity partner for London Food Month which was attended by more than 100,000 people.

Funding

The Felix Project is funded by donations from individuals, corporate supporters and the Felix Byam Shaw Foundation. The Evening Standard’s Food for London campaign had The Felix Project as its flagship charity. Corporate sponsors donate vans, fridges and contribute to running costs. Crowdfunding helped raise funds for a new depot in North London.

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United ...

awarded funding in the first round of their Food Waste Fund, which was awarded to redistribution organisations to substantially reduce food waste from businesses.

Awards

2017 Beacon Award for Philanthropy, for Justin Byam Shaw, founder of The Felix Project

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web, url=http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/food-waste-recycling-action-plan/, title=The Food Waste Recycling Action Plan, WRAP, date=July 2016 {{cite web, url=https://www.sustainweb.org/publications/beyond_the_food_bank_2017/, title=London Food Poverty Profile report: Beyond the Food Bank Sustain - London Food Poverty Profile report: Beyond the Food Bank Sustain, date=October 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/foodforlondon/food-for-london-charity-the-felix-project-set-up-in-memory-of-a-boy-whose-life-was-tragically-cut-a3349156.html, title=The Felix Project, set up in memory of a boy whose life was tragically cut short Evening Standard, date=September 2016 {{cite web, url=http://londonfoodmonth.co.uk/refettorio-felix/, title=London Food Month,30 days celebrating food at over 400 evens across London, date=June 2017 {{cite web, url=http://www.felixbyamshawfoundation.org/index.html, title=The Felix Byam Shaw Foundation {{cite web, url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/foodforlondon/food-for-london-the-evening-standard-launches-a-campaign-to-collect-wasted-food-and-give-it-to-the-a3349191.html, title=Food for London: The Evening Standard launches a campaign to collect wasted food – and give it to the hungry, Evening Standard, date=September 2016 {{cite web, url=https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-felix-project/, title=The Felix Project – a food waste depot for London Crowdfunder, date=December 2016 {{cite web, url=http://beaconawards.org.uk/beacon-awards-2017/beacon-awards-2017-winners, title=Beacon Award winners Beacon Awards, date=May 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.standard.co.uk/help-a-hungry-child/help-feed-londons-hungry-children-our-christmas-appeal-a3703711.html, title=Help feed London's hungry children: Our Christmas appeal, date=November 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.independent.co.uk/helpahungrychild/food-waste-poverty-help-a-hungry-child-the-independent-campaign-felix-project-london-a8071371.html , archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/helpahungrychild/food-waste-poverty-help-a-hungry-child-the-independent-campaign-felix-project-london-a8071371.html , archive-date=2022-06-18 , url-access=subscription , url-status=live, title=Help a Hungry Child: The two tonnes of food in this warehouse was destined for landfill - here's how it won't go to waste, date=November 2017 {{cite web, url=http://thefelixproject.org/news/new-redistribution-centre-in-enfield, title=Our New Redistribution Centre in Enfield, date=November 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.independent.co.uk/helpahungrychild/help-a-hungry-child-market-stall-independent-appeal-felix-project-london-food-waste-children-poverty-a8092481.html , archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/helpahungrychild/help-a-hungry-child-market-stall-independent-appeal-felix-project-london-food-waste-children-poverty-a8092481.html , archive-date=2022-06-18 , url-access=subscription , url-status=live, title=Market stall opened in London school, date=December 2017 {{cite web, url=http://thefelixproject.org, title=www.thefelixproject.org, date=December 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.standard.co.uk/help-a-hungry-child/thank-you-readers-you-ve-raised-1m-for-hungry-children-a3738581.html, title=Readers raised £1m for hungry children, date=January 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.standard.co.uk/help-a-hungry-child/build-up-to-it-gradually-team-felix-put-through-paces-to-run-london-half-marathon-to-help-hungry-a3736506.html, title=Team Felix put through paces to run London half marathon to help hungry kids, date=January 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.standard.co.uk/help-a-hungry-child/from-a-single-delivery-van-to-20000-meals-how-the-felix-project-grew-a3703676.html, title=From a single delivery van to 20,000 meals: How the Felix Project grew, date=November 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/food-waste-fund-4-million-awarded-to-cut-food-waste, title=Food Waste Fund: £4 million awarded to cut food waste, date=May 2019

External links

The Felix Project

The Felix Project, registered charity no. 1168183

Charities based in England Charities based in London Food waste in the United Kingdom