How To Help Out After Eat Out To Help Out

Over the past four weeks, the UK Government’s Eat Out To Help Out scheme has been a major success. As of 23 August, the Treasury had received claims for 64 million meals from participating restaurants. And that number is expected to swell as more claims for compensation come in. But despite so many people taking the opportunity to enjoy a £10 dinner, a discount on their sushi, or a bargain brunch, the tragic fact remains that many Londoners are struggling right now. School closures and reduced employment opportunities are just two of the many factors that have heightened the already desperate extent of food poverty in our city, so if you’re looking for ways you can help, check out this list of resources.

Ways to Help

• The Felix Project is London’s largest redistribution charity. They take surplus produce from across the food industry and deliver it to vulnerable Londoners who are unable to afford it or cannot access it due to coronavirus. Get involved here.

• Community Comfort is a digital recipe book that compiles recipes and stories from 100 British cooks from migrant backgrounds. Proceeds from the sale of the book go towards supporting colleagues and families of Black, Asian and Ethic minority victims of Covid-19. Buy the book and donate here.

• Food Cycle operate meal delivery and collection services throughout the UK, with 11 projects here in London. They provide free, nutritious vegetarian meals for anyone who is in need of one for themselves or their household, and are always on the lookout for volunteers and donations. Head to their website for more information.

• Kitchen Social, a Mayor’s Fund for London project helping children and young people who are facing food insecurity and social isolation outside of term time, helped provide 120,000 meals throughout our city in the first three months of the pandemic. Get involved here.

• The Trussel Trust supports a nationwide network of 1200 food banks providing three-days’ worth of nutritionally balanced emergency support to people who are referred in crisis. Head to their site to find the many ways you can get involved to support their work and help ‘challenge the structural economic issues that lock people in poverty’.

• City Harvest is another London-based organisation fighting food poverty by redistributing surplus food to the most vulnerable people in the capital. Donations and time can be offered here.

• Food For All is a Central London based charity staffed entirely by volunteers providing thousands of meals a day through a network of partners that includes over 30 community hubs around London. To volunteer or donate head over to their website.

• If you’d rather contact a local resource directly, you can find a list of London mutual aid groups to get involved with here, or find a local foodbank to donate your time, money, or space to through Bankuet.

Questions & Comments

If you have any questions, comments, or you want to let us know about efforts you’re getting involved with, email us at london@theinfatuation.com.