- Help the Hungry and Food for London Now Campaign reach it's initial target for The Felix Project
- ‘£1m raised, £1m to go – let’s finish the job,’ says The Independent’s Evgeny Lebedev
Our brands, The Independent and Evening Standard, launched Food for London Now and Help the Hungry to raise £1m for The Felix Project to fund the supply of food to children, the poor, the NHS and vulnerable people in London. That target has been hit, we now surge past £1.5 million amid signs that precipitous drops in income have led to millions more people being pushed into food poverty.
We surged over the line with a £50,000 donation from Citi bank and £25,000 from Lush cosmetics founders Mark and Mo Constantine, as well as a rise in reader donations to more than £50,000.
It took 12 days since the launch of the appeal to get to £1 million, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of all of you, our donor companies, foundations, philanthropists and more than 650 members of the public.
A YouGov survey for the Food Foundation has found that eight million people in Britain are facing food insecurity and that three million are going hungry since lockdown started, causing a huge rise in demand for free food.
The Independent and Evening Standard proprietor Evgeny Lebedev said:
“Twelve days ago I wrote to ask for your help in the face of the greatest challenge of our collective lifetime — and you responded magnificently. The £1 million you have donated will help us help The Felix Project feed NHS workers, care workers, the poor and the vulnerable. Thank you London.”
“But I have to report that I have been out delivering food with Felix today and they are seeing unprecedented demand from people who cannot afford or access food.”
“I went to two homeless charities, The Marylebone Project and Rhythms of Life, where our deliveries are preventing deep distress. I accompanied one of 22 Felix vans that set off across the capital, filled to the brim, to ferry over 20 tonnes of nutritious food to three of the giant community hubs established in Barnet, Islington and Haringey, and to more than 75 charities and schools. That’s more than double the 10 tonnes a day Felix were supplying in normal times.”
“Within days, this picture is set to change dramatically yet again. Felix say they expect another 11 community hubs in another 11 boroughs to open their doors to hungry Londoners — and with it Felix’s output will need to double again”
“That is why we at The Independent and Evening Standard and are committing our resources to raise another million pounds to prevent food insecurity to people already anxious about their health and that of loved ones. That is why we say: £1 million raised, £1 million to go. Let’s finish the job and keep vulnerable Londoners healthy and fed.”
Read more about each campaign and the generous support we have received on the independent.co.uk and standard.co.uk websites or in the printed Evening Standard article below.
Find out how you can help support The Independent's Help the Hungry campaign here and follow this link to donate. Follow this link to donate to the Evening Standard Food for London Now.
