Help The Hungry: Operation deliver – how trucks will get food to those who need it most

‘We have ex-homeless people, those whose mental health has become better because of their volunteering,’ the charity partner behind our food delivery vans tells Francesco Loy Bell

Our Help The Hungry van arrives at Ringcross Community Centre to help feed those in need (Lucy Young)

The homeless, unemployed and others bearing the brunt of the hunger crisis will be fed throughout the winter lockdown as part of The Independent’s Help The Hungry Christmas campaign.

The Independent, along with our appeal partner the Felix Project, will deploy two state-of-the-art food trucks across the country, supplied by Food Truck Masters who run the Together19 Street Vendor initiative.

Each truck will provide hot meals to those in need, and the initiative will be active six days a week.

Professional chefs, food experts and volunteers from With Compassion – a charity founded to combat food poverty in the capital – will prepare thousands of meals from the food supplied by the Felix Project. Curries, moussaka, fried chicken, vegetables and rice are among the meals provided in the vans, which will visit a range of charities from food banks like Ringcross Community Centre – where The Crown’s Emma Corrin has already helped out – to children’s charities like Greenhouse Sports in Marylebone.

“We have ex-homeless people, those whose mental health has become better because of their volunteering, and others who just wanted to give a helping hand,” says With Compassion founder Leon Aarts.

Having spent the last few months cooking inside a kitchen, Mr Aarts is looking forward to the opportunity to serve from the front. “This will allow us to hear people’s stories and let them know we’re in this together in some way,” he says.

Mr Aarts and his team will oversee the cooking from the kitchens of London Scottish House. Founded by two charities – the London Scottish Regimental Trust and the London Scottish Headquarters Trust – the historic building has long been helping those in need.

“As a social enterprise, helping others is at the core of our mission,” said Lettie West of London Scottish House.

“The Independent’s campaign is a prime example of how we as a community can, and should, come together. To share what we have with others is not a new phenomenon, but has become more prominent in the media, which will help so many more people, helping them to get back on their feet, or just feed their children.”

The Help The Hungry campaign started on 27 March as the Covid-19 crisis started to take hold in Britain. The funds are being used to distribute free hot meals to charities, families and those most affected by Covid-19.

This November and December we will be delivering food directly to 1,000 people a day through our partner With Compassion. Please donate here to help us do all we can to ensure no one goes hungry this Christmas.