Voluntary work with The Felix Project proved an eye-opener for Edenred staff who learned about food waste and child hunger at a food redistribution warehouse.

In November, Edenred staff volunteered at The Felix Project, London’s largest food redistribution charity. Felix rescues surplus food from businesses, supermarkets, restaurants and farms for redistribution across schools, charities and food banks across London. Critically, food packages include a high proportion of fresh, nutritious produce that recipients can struggle to afford.

Edenred staff helped to pack crates with bulk loads of fresh produce for schools to redistribute in smaller packages to eligible families. As well as fresh produce, crates include hot meals made by chefs in the warehouse kitchen. Staff were trained to use pallet trucks to load full crates onto vans to be driven to schools. 

Volunteer, Molly O’Donovan said, “I really enjoyed the day but was shocked to see how much food we waste and the number of families in desperate need of food. The day has been a real eye opener for me.”

Staff at the Felix Project took time to educate volunteers on the extent of child food poverty in the UK.

Edenred Finance Director, Solène Zammito, a French native living in the UK, observed that, “Food poverty is a lot worse in the UK than in France. I was shocked to learn that 1 in 4 young people under the age of 25 face hunger. The problem doubled during the pandemic and now 14% of adults living with children are experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity.”