Sainsbury's Richmond Friars Stile Local

Our mission is to help transform the lives of homeless and vulnerable people in LONDON - from ALL walks of life. WHATEVER your situation, income, race, ability, gender or sexuality - rich or poor - we are here to help build a community where all are welcome - to eat, drink, laugh.. and talk. A place where you can discover yourself - through supportive friendship and genuine community. We are a new Charity aiming to provide a safe and secure space for people to be together, create simple shared experiences, and to end the legacy of isolation in this post-Pandemic era. All are welcome. Please support us - as we try to build a meeting place - and sanctuary - for all. Rudi Director Open Souls Be Part of The Solution We are currently looking for a hall or church building to host once a weekly event - for six hours during the day on the same day of each week on an ongoing basis. If you are inspired by our mission, and can offer hall or church space, or would like to contribute financially - little or large - we would like to hear from you. Please get in touch with me, and I would love to hear your story and chat to you personally. We would like to provide both volunteers and community members with time to stop - and just be. A place to sit and relax - with hot foods and drink. An invite for ALL - for those who want to come - there is a place at our table.

TOGETHER WE CAN HELP STOP HUNGER From donating food, volunteering your time or taking on an exciting fundraising challenge, there are lots of ways to get involved with raising awareness of poverty and helping stop UK hunger. Working together is the only way to end hunger. We’ve built many partnerships to pursue new and better approaches, accelerate the success of our programs, and get food and resources to those who need them most. Our motivation is derived from the fact that more than a quarter of a million people are homeless in England (BBC). The figures show homelessness hotspots outside London, with high rates in Birmingham, Brighton and Luton. To continue with our organisational mission of reaching out to those needing help the most; and practicing “charity begins at home”, we started food distribution drive in Birmingham. Although the government says that it is investing £500m in homelessness we still come across quite a large number of people needing their food supplies on daily basis. Although the projects UKCAB runs, coordinate in improving the community development pace by offering free education which will enable people to gain skills and avoid homelessness by getting jobs or starting their own businesses, we witness people who are in dire need of basic necessities to survive.

At The Real Junk Food Project (TRJFP), we collect surplus food and turn it into delicious warm meals that we serve in our Community cafes across the Borough. Food that we don’t use in our cooking is available for our guests to take away with them. Our aim is to feed bellies not bins, and everyone is welcome at TRJFP, particularly those experiencing food poverty, cost of living anxiety or a sense of social isolation. Operating since 2018, we now run 9 different sessions at 6 venues every week across the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, all on a ‘Pay as you Feel’ basis. Our team of 100 brilliant volunteers currently provide around 800 meals every week for our guests. Some of our sessions offer a food surplus hub and cafe, others just a surplus hub. Our venues are ETNA Community Centre in East Twickenham, the Cambrian Centre in Richmond, Linden Hall in Hampton, outside Noble Wines in Hampton Hill, Ham Youth Centre, and Achieving for Children in Ham. Details on what we offer at each venue and when we are open at www.trjfp-twickenham.com Our aim is to create friendly spaces where our guests come together over food to enjoy time together, making new friends or meeting with old ones. We are strong believers that feeling connected to others helps strengthen community spirit, fosters a sense of belonging and builds collective positivity. Our recent guest survey shows us that 88% of our visitors feel that coming to the Project helps them feel more connected to others in their community, and 75% feel a reduction in the food related stress they experience. "It’s good because you go there, you chat to people and they’re very helpful…. the people [volunteers] are friendly and, and it helps a lot with a few bits, you know. It does. Otherwise, it would cost you much more. I mean you go there; you pick up a few stuffs and...it helps a lot, you know" “…Incredible cooking. Feel loved, they make us feel at home, like a family. All of them look after this project like they are hosting in their own homes.” As a Project we are reliant on donations and grants to operate. On average, each meal we provide costs around £3.00 (which is made up of food transport and storage costs, venue rent, utility costs, food packaging, operating overheads etc). Our ambition is to continue to expand our offering, supporting every resident in the Borough who might need us. We rely on the generosity of others to be able to do so. Thank you to everyone who has supported TRJFP on our journey to date.