City Harvest delivers free surplus food to people across London facing food poverty
A child needs care and a healthy diet in order to thrive. The National Food Strategy and the Broken Plate will tell you that our children are suffering from malnutrition, leading to obesity and ill health. Cheap food lacks nutrients and a healthy diet is now a luxury for 1 in 4 children.
We align with the Food Foundation and are focused on providing data, food and sharing our experience of being the longest serving food redistribution charity in London to help forge systemic change.
We supply nutritious food to foodbanks, schools, community centres and holiday groups all of whom feed families and children. We work with like minded people creating healthy solutions in our current humanitarian crisis.
Access to Free Fruit & Veg is Keeping Families Going
City Speaks Up: First-hand reports from schools & community foodbanks, helping people access free food.
Free School Meals
#FEEDTHEFUTURE seeks a transformational policy shift that would provide free school meals to all children in Universal Credit households. This should be considered a first step toward a longer-term commitment to Universal Free School Meals. We are calling on the general public to take action.
Partnerships
Working to alleviate Holiday Hunger
Healthy and nutritious food is essential for child development, both physical and mental, and should be accessible to all.
News
Read about the children’s charities we support.
800K Children in Food Poverty Miss out on Free School Meals
North Kensington Community Kitchen, W11
“It’s a real issue, it’s a real problem. We’ve got a growing number of children who are not having a meal during the day. It may be that we need to extend Free School Meals to all children.”
Melanie reports that children living in poverty who don’t qualify for Free School Meals are turning up to school with empty lunchboxes. 800,000 children are falling through the system’s gaps, going the day without a meal.
School Food Banks in Demand
Parkfield Primary School, NW4
“We have seen the need rise, fast. We provide almost 100 ‘Community Boxes’ of free food & healthcare items a week to families facing food poverty in North West London.”
Parkfield Primary & the Hyde School, part of The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust, run weekly food distribution hubs to support families in need, including increasingly more refugee families residing in the local Holiday Inn.
Access to Free Fruit & Veg is Keeping Families Going
Elizabeth House Community Centre, N5
“From speaking to our residents, we know that people are stressed. They’re concerned about the Autumn, and so are we.”
The cost-of-living crisis has become a great source of anxiety for many, especially the families Elizabeth House supports weekly. Roshni, Community Coordinator, explains how Elizabeth House has become so much more than a food hub, but a real centre for residents to access support and community.
Supporting Children, Young People and Family News
Peckham Pantry: More Than Just a Social Supermarket
The Peckham Pantry, a social supermarket, has redefined the way communities come together to tackle food insecurity, and food waste while supporting the locals.
St Mary’s Battersea: supporting families through the winter
Battersea-based Primary School, St Mary’s opens its doors to parents every Tuesday for a weekly food bank to support the school community who face food insecurity. Numbers have crept up since lockdown, signalling the continued need for the food bank to stay open and Associate Head, Claire Mitchell, and her team are there come rain or shine to support the parents and children at St Mary’s.
The Feathers Association: Supporting local children with surplus food
City Harvest community partner, the Feathers Association, is a Marylebone-based youth hub geared towards extracurricular enrichment, supporting children of all ages with homework help, free activities, and free food.
APPLE: Empowering young people through food and creative skills
City Harvest’s local Acton community partner, APPLE, empowers young people through free food and creative skills at its activity centre. City Harvest speaks with project workers about how food helps the community.
Fighting Food Poverty: City Harvest Delivers 80,000 free meals to Carney’s Community Centre
Fighting Food Poverty: City Harvest delivers 80,000 free meals to Carney’s Community Centre – a hub that supports Battersea’s youth via its Fit & Fed Programme.
Thank you for supporting City Harvest Festival 2023
City Harvest food charity’s London-wide community has rallied with food and fundraising drives to support city Harvest Festival 2023. Thank you to all the organisations who took part and contributed to a total of 6.5 tonnes of food donated for Londoners in need.