Getir Lambeth

Waste Not Want Not Battersea is a volunteer-run charity that collects surplus food from nearby markets and suppliers (Covent Garden Market, City Harvest, and local retailers) and distributes it to the local community, saving around 150kg of food every week from going to waste. We promote an inclusive community environment, where nobody has to prove their need. Under normal circumstances we run twice-weekly food sharing sessions for 50-60 people at community centers and coordinate healthy eating classes, community meals, catering for events, and outreach to homeless people. During Covid-19, we are focused on providing emergency food to people in need in Battersea and other areas of Wandsworth, including vulnerable people needing to self-isolate and those who will otherwise struggle to access adequate, nutritious food: older people, people with SEND, families experiencing food poverty, people from BAME communities. We seek funding to rapidly scale up operations to meet the greatly increased demand: we are aware of 800 people who need our service and expect more to be referred. We need to work from three bases and to employ paid staff for three months to cope with producing the volume of food needed. We currently use 30 volunteers and would like to take on 30 more, but need professional staff to recruit, manage, and support them. We need a committed, contracted driver to pick up fresh produce from suppliers (starting at 4 am) and deliver meals to the community, and we need a Project Manager to run the operation, which will provide 1,200 meals/food parcels per week. We are working with local churches, voluntary organizations, Coronavirus Angels, local Mutual Aid groups and schools to identify who is most in need. We have partnered with local organizations (including Regenerate Rise and Street Kitchen) to pool resources and ensure we are not duplicating work.

We are a poverty alleviation and community empowerment nonprofit promoting equitable access to food, housing, healthcare, education, and an adequate standard of living for individuals and families. We work with various segments of the community including homeless people, refugees, rough sleepers, and individuals and families living in extreme poverty. Refuge Network runs a soup kitchen at Charing Cross. We also operate several outreach programmes providing food and survival packs in various locations, including Victoria, Leicester Square, Brixton, Camden, Clapham, London Bridge, Waterloo, and Goodge Street. We provide food, clothing, tents, sleeping bags, phones, survival kits, other material supplies, and advice to the homeless, refugees, struggling individuals, and families living in poverty. Due to the cost of living crisis, our service is receiving unprecedented requests for assistance. We are seeing more suffering on the streets and can feel the urgency of the situation. A visitor to our soup kitchen told us he was finding it difficult to remain on his feet due to hunger. It was heartbreaking seeing him sitting dejectedly by the streets complaining he had no strength to move on. Around the same period, our team members at Southwark spent time consoling an injured homeless woman on a wheelchair who was weeping profusely by the roadside due to hunger and homelessness. While Refuge Network has made great strides in providing support to thousands of homeless people and rough sleepers, the situation with many service users remains desperate. We are expanding services to cater for more individuals and families in underserved areas, so we urgently need food, clothing, toiletries, blankets, bags, household goods, and anything you can give to support the cause. Volunteers are also needed to meet growing demands. Thank you very much for your support!

The Community Fridge project is aimed at reducing food wastage amongst food retailers and householders in the local area, whilst simultaneously supporting the local community by providing food at no charge. In doing to the project also provides employment, training and volunteering opportunities for local people and builds trust and a spirit of sharing within the community. The Albrighton Community Fridge can be found in the Albrighton Community Centre, Camberwell. It is open to members of the public on from Tues - Thurs from 1pm. It works on an honesty basis. There is also a second fridge where food is held specifically for organisations and charities which help vulnerable people locally. Alongside the fridge can be found a Community Cooking kit. The kit operates like a library with items such as blenders, rice cookers, slow cookers and vacuum packs on loan for week-long periods. The library intends to help local households without the means or space to own such items. The items were picked for their ability to support with food waste reduction. It is the first of its kind and you can sign up at the Albrighton Centre reception. On occasion the fridge hosts cooking workshops and other skills sharing events. We are always looking for food donations from local retailers and individuals and volunteers to support with the running of the fridge. The Albrighton Community Fridge is a part of the Hubbub Community Fridge Network.