The Homeless Fund: How the Felix Project is helping tackle homelessness one meal at a time
'Some of our partners say they couldn’t exist without the provisions we bring'
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Women at the homeless shelter backed by The Independent for our Homeless Appeal have received free meals courtesy of the Felix Project.
The food charity delivered fresh produce to the Marylebone Project, which provides accommodation and support services to homeless women.
The Felix Project works to raise money to tackle homelessness and has partnered with StreetSmart on its annual restaurant initiative: by adding a voluntary £1 to bills, diners can help those on the streets or in unsuitable accommodation. There are 409 London restaurants involved with the campaign.
“Our deliveries help frontline charities to function,” Felix Project marketing manager Jose Martinez explained. “Some of our partners say they couldn’t exist without the provisions we bring.
“We supply them with urgently needed food – from sandwiches and soups to fresh fruit and vegetables – which we collect from over 170 suppliers, including supermarkets like Waitrose and chains like Eat.”
But there is much more work to be done, Mr Martinez said: “In many cases we can only deliver to them once a day, or once a week, but ideally we’d like to offer three meals a day.
"We’d like to do so much more, but for this we need resources and many more volunteers.
"This is why awareness-raising through The Independent's Christmas appeal is vital.”
The Felix Project provides free meals to 90 homeless charities in the capital, which collectively support 13,000 rough sleepers, shelter users and hostel residents.
The charity rescues high-quality surplus food that would otherwise go to waste, delivering it to adults, children and families in need.
Last year, StreetSmart partnered with 602 restaurants across the UK, raising £735,000 for vulnerable and homeless people.
Both StreetSmart and the Felix Project are proud to support The Independent's collaboration with the London Homeless Collective, a coalition of 23 leading charities delivering direct services to people sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness.
“The list of charities involved in this year’s appeal shows that the initiative truly means business, as it includes the capital’s most impressive organisations, making the biggest difference in dealing with the underlying causes of homelessness,” said the director of StreetSmart, Glenn Pougnet.
Mr Martinez praised the aim to set up the city’s first 24-hour drop-in shelter for homeless women as part of our Christmas appeal, adding that the Felix Project hoped to regularly offer the centre its services.
“We at Felix are hugely supportive of the plans, and we would love to ensure the shelter’s clients are always well fed,” he said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments