IW Capital supports the Felix Project
Last month the whole IW Capital team took one day each from their week to support a great charity in the Felix Project. Each member of the team spent a day volunteering for the project, either in the Felix warehouse, preparing boxes of food and produce for those that need it, or helping to make deliveries to charities and food banks, as well as picking up donations of food from suppliers. It was a great experience for everyone involved.
The Felix Project is a London-based UK charity set up in 2016 by entrepreneur, Justin Byam Shaw. More than eight million people in the UK struggle to afford to eat every day, while our food industry generates 100,000 tonnes of edible food waste each year. The Felix Project rescues good food that cannot be sold and would otherwise go to waste. This is high-quality and nutritious, including a high proportion of fresh fruit and vegetables, baked goods, salads, meat and fish. In just three years they have built up an impressive network of 165 suppliers, including supermarkets, wholesalers, farms, restaurants and delis.
Volunteers and staff collect, sort and then deliver this food to charities that cook meals and prepare food parcels for vulnerable people and to primary schools to distribute to children and their families. This year they will deliver 2,000 tonnes of food, free of charge, to more than 280 London frontline charities and primary schools. This is enough food to make almost five million meals.
How important funding is to The Felix Project
The Felix Project has to raise more than £1.6m this year to support some of the most vulnerable people in London. The charity estimates they are reaching more than 90,000 beneficiaries each week.
To enable their rescued food to reach even more people this year, they need to raise £715,000 from charitable trusts and foundations. So far they have secured £400,000. Do you know of any trust or foundation that could help them bridge the gap? Every £1,000 donated saves about £5,000 of food. A contribution at any level will make a huge difference to the invaluable work they are doing.
Catherine Williams is the Trusts and Foundations fundraiser at The Felix Project and would be very pleased to put together a grant application. She can be contacted on catherine@thefelixproject.organd please let her know that the introduction came through IW Capital. It would be fantastic to know just how much good we can all do together.
Tariq Attia, Director of IW Capital, comments on why this is such an important issue to address: “Everyone hates to see food go to waste especially seeing as people in the UK are still going hungry. The Felix Project does fantastic work to try to put this right by working with supermarkets and other suppliers, who are working hard to reduce the waste that has shocked so many when we see it. Working with the Felix Project was a wonderful experience and hopefully, we will see more work to help those that are in need of meals and healthy food.”
