Help the Hungry: Felix Project takes over south London depot of Marcus Rashford charity FareShare

Agreement comes as second lockdown threatens to leave more across the country in need of emergency food, writes Vincent Wood

Mark Curtin, Felix Project CEO (left) at the FareShare depot in Deptford (Nigel Howard)

The Independent’s Help the Hungry campaign partner has bolstered its capacity to distribute food by an additional 100 tonnes a week.

Yesterday, The Felix Project, London’s largest surplus food distributor, took ownership of the huge south London depot of FareShare, London’s second largest surplus food distributor who has partnered with England footballer Marcus Rashford to tackle rising hunger.

The deal means that it is now virtually our campaign alone that will be actioning the ambition – as articulated by our campaign in March and reiterated more recently by Mr Rashford – to tackle food poverty in London, with more than a thousand volunteers devoting their time to the project.

The Felix Project already supplies more than 430 charities, schools and food hubs with nutritious produce that would otherwise be wasted, and has seen its operations underpinned by The Independent’s campaign to raise £10m.

The deal will see Felix take over FareShare’s Deptford distribution centre, which was used to deliver enough food to make 238,000 meals a week at the peak of the first lockdown.

It comes as the nation endures a second shutdown – with the first wave of restrictions in March having triggered a surge in need for emergency food.

Government data from the Food Standards Agency found that up to 7.7 million adults across England, Wales and Northern Ireland reduced portions or skipped meals due to a lack of money during April and May. Up to 3.7 million people were forced to rely on emergency food from charities and foodbanks.

Concerns continue over a potential plunge into food poverty during the second wave of restrictions — with research from Feeding Britain network and the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) warning of a rising number of middle income families who have been forced to use food charities and apply for state welfare to last out the pandemic.

Mark Curtin, CEO of The Felix Project, said: “We are thrilled to begin this partnership with FareShare, who do a fantastic job of unlocking food nationally. We are very proud to be taking over the Deptford operation and welcoming the team to join us as we lead the fight against food waste reduction and tackling hunger and malnutrition across the whole of London.”

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare’s CEO, said: “With more than 2 million tonnes of perfectly edible food going to waste within the supply chain each year whilst millions of vulnerable people experience food insecurity, there has never been a more crucial time to join forces. The tireless campaigning and support of our ambassador Marcus Rashford and his fans will enable FareShare to distribute an additional 6 million meals across the country and we will be working with The Felix Project to get much of these vital food supplies into the London communities who need it most.”

Meanwhile, Deliveroo will deploy its network of riders to help tackle hunger this Christmas – delivering essentials to help feed thousands of families across the city.

The partnership, which began during the October half term to tackle the crisis in holiday hunger, has seen couriers ferry nutritious food from Co-op shops and Pret A Manger cafes to our appeal partner The Felix Project and FareShare – who then distribute them to volunteer groups and charities.

Deliveroo chief Will Shu said: “Charities are doing incredibly important work at the moment and we’re pleased to be working with such great partners to make a contribution to support families across the UK.”