Brixton Soup Kitchen (BSK) is battling an endemic food waste culture by channelling support from Nando’s and Greggs to help Lambeth residents.
The famous peri-peri chicken is frozen and donated twice weekly by Nando’s, with Greggs dropping two bags of fresh bread and a box of donuts to BSK headquarters every weekday.
“A lot of our service users can’t even afford to spend 50p on a luxury,” said co-founder Mahamed Hashi.
“The chicken they can store in their fridge or freezer is so precious.”
@BrixSoupKitchen just had a Fantastic meeting with @jowellt @ChukaUmunna @1planetventures and @HatchEnterprise !!! pic.twitter.com/06J7Xv0HsI
— Brixton Soup Kitchen (@BrixSoupKitchen) February 12, 2015
Co-founders Solomon Smith,29, and Mr Hashi,30, utilise food’s power to bring people together at the table. “We use food to facilitate people engaging with each other,” said Mr Hashi.
“The key need is being able to sit down, eat and just feel normal.”
Visitors to BSK are offered more than just food – they receive CV and job guidance, plus advice on housing and benefits.
Most importantly, they also enjoy friendly company and conversation.
🍗🍗 Big thanks to @nandosuk for donating 70 pieces of chicken to the soup kitchen 🍗🍗 #brixtonsoupkitchen #homeless #nandos A photo posted by BRIXTON SOUP KITCHEN (@brixtonsoupkitchen) on
Mr Hashi added:“We’re looking to re-integrate the homeless back into the community by giving them back their confidence and making them feel like valued members of society.”
BSK attracts an array of people in need, from those on jobseeker’s allowance to families and young people in difficulty.
Without any funding support, BSK relies on charitable donations and the founder’s own money to keep the project afloat.
But this hasn’t slowed the movement’s pace, with Citigroup bigwigs volunteering their services this week to help redevelop the community garden.
More than 200 Citigroup bankers left their offices to invest their time to create a community space, which will play host to numerous events this summer for Lambeth’s homeless.
“We’ve started to change the perception of homeless people already,” Mr Hashi told SW Londoner. Of Lambeth’s 307,000- strong population 27% live on the poverty line or under.
A considerable task remains to help these 83,000 people in need, who require the services that BSK offer.
