GAIL’s Pimlico

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 79 beds hostel in Westminster offering support for clients with complex needs, mental health, learning disabilities and palliative care.

Gurseva is a grassroots community charity working to tackle food insecurity, reduce social isolation, and create opportunities for people to thrive. We support vulnerable individuals and families across our local communities by redistributing nutritious food, providing community meals, and delivering projects that promote wellbeing, inclusion, and youth leadership. We work with a diverse range of people, including families struggling with the rising cost of living, older people, refugees and asylum seekers, people experiencing homelessness, and individuals who are socially isolated. Through our food support programmes and community activities, we help people access healthy food, build confidence, develop new skills, and strengthen connections within their communities. Support through Neighbourly would make a significant difference to our work. Surplus food donations enable us to provide fresh, nutritious food to people who need it most while reducing food waste and supporting environmental sustainability. We also welcome volunteers from local businesses who can help with food collections, sorting and packing food parcels, preparing community meals, supporting community events, gardening projects, and mentoring young volunteers through our community leadership programme. By partnering with local businesses through Neighbourly, we can increase our impact, support more people facing hardship, reduce food waste, and create stronger, healthier, and more connected communities.