A food redistribution charity is celebrating after hitting a huge meal milestone.
Felix’s Kitchen, which is part of The Felix Project, has made and distributed five million meals to people in need.
The Felix Project rescues food that would otherwise have gone to waste and gets it to over 1,200 organisations who are feeding people experiencing food insecurity. The kitchen, which is based at the East London depot in Poplar first opened in July 2021. Its initial aim was to produce 100,000 meals to feed local families and children throughout the summer holidays, but the work never stopped. Today, it produces around 5,000 meals a day. Chefs take surplus ingredients from the depot next door and turn it into meals, which are cooked, chilled and packed into boxes. These are then distributed to the organisations the charity supports.
Nick Kerle is Head of Production, he explains: “At the time we knew there were a lot of people who did not have access to proper cooking facilities, so we wanted to make something that was healthy and delicious but also quick and easy for these people. Then the cost-of-living crisis hit and more and more people started to worry about their bills and the cost of cooking. Felix meals became a really important part of what we had to offer and over the years the numbers we have cooked each day has slowly increased. I started in the kitchen when we would make around 2,500. We have worked really hard to improve our capacity and I am thrilled we have now hit five million – it is a huge achievement.”
Felix meals are delivered to each of the depots across London and over 300 organisations get them across the capital. One of them is the Carpenters and Dockland Community Centre in Newham. The centre runs a food bank three days a week, supporting around 1,100 people, as well as a free cafeteria five days a week. It also provides a wide range of support services to the local community.
Centre manager Samantha White said the meals had been “transformational” for those using the centre. “We give them out to everyone. For parents, they mean having something balanced and tasty to quickly give their kids. People with no kitchens, or those who can’t cook, really love them because they’re getting a proper, nutritious meal.”
She added that the meals were particularly valuable for people experiencing homelessness. “I can give them to homeless people who often use the microwave here to heat them up. We used to give out Pot Noodles, but these meals are so much better and more fulfilling. They really do make all the difference.”
In total 21 kitchen staff help make and pack the meals, alongside an army of volunteers. The team ensure there is a diverse selection of meat and vegetarian meals which will cater to the wide variety of people they serve. The five millionth meal was bean and lentil stew with rice and was packed by some of our regular volunteers and volunteers from luxury residence management company, Rhodium.
The Felix Project is now even bigger, in September 2025 it was announced that The Felix Project would merge with FareShare, to create a bigger and more ambitious organisation with greater national impact.
The new charity manages seven depots across London, Suffolk, Merseyside and Hampshire and continues to work with 16 network partners to distribute food to more than 8,000 organisations across the UK. A new brand identity will be launched later in the year.