London Bangla A Force for the community…
Islamic Relief UK stepped forward to support the Felix Project on 20th July with a very worthwhile initiative. The Felix Project’s unique kitchen collects good surplus food, from which it cooks 2,300 meals which are then delivered to some of the most vulnerable families.
This is part of a wider initiative led by Islamic Relief UK involving 19 partners across the country to deliver food packs of Qurbani meat and Eid gifts to coincide with the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha.
The Kitchen, which opened in July 2021, has been cooking and delivering culturally sensitive meals to the ethnically diverse community in East London ever since. Local home cooks and guest chefs have visited the site to teach Felix’s professionally trained chefs authentic and culturally familiar dishes that can be stored for two to three days and then heated.
Over the last 12 months the kitchen staff have been shown dishes from many countries including Ethiopia, China, Singapore, India and Jamaica. On average the Kitchen can deliver 3,000 meals a day: that’s 16,000 meals a week – or 71,000 meals a month.
The Felix Project collects surplus food from supermarkets, wholesalers, farms, restaurants and delis that cannot be sold and would otherwise go to waste. The surplus includes fresh fruit, vegetables, healthy food, baked goods, salads, meat and fish. The Project is a lifeline for many families which have been hit hard by the cost of living crisis, especially families on low incomes, those suffering from domestic abuse, people who are homeless, asylum seekers and refugees.
Leon Aarts, Head of Kitchen, said, “The community organisations that we serve around our Poplar depot support vulnerable people from a particularly diverse range of ethnic backgrounds, and as such, the feedback we receive from our community organisations is that there is a significant demand for halal meat. The rising utility bills have meant that many of our end users are struggling to afford the energy to cook. The Felix Project is working hard to deliver up to 70,000 cooked meals a month to our charity partners supporting London’s most vulnerable people. We would like to thank Islamic Relief UK for enabling us to provide these diverse communities in East London with such good quality fresh, delicious, halal lamb.”
Tufail Hussain, Director of Islamic Relief UK, said. “The cost of living crisis is driving an increasing number of families across London deeper into poverty. This should not be happening in any city. As part of the Islamic rite of Qurbani – when Muslims give meat to people struggling to put food on the table – Islamic Relief UK will be supporting The Felix Project’s Kitchen and we hope that we can bring much-needed relief to families during this very difficult time. We are proud to be working The Felix Project, who are accommodating people in a respectful way by providing culturally diverse meals to cater for people of different backgrounds.”
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