The Felix Projects appoints three new Board Members with one more to follow

2 May 2024

London’s largest food redistribution charity is set to welcome three new members to its Board of Trustees from April 2024, as the charity continues to expand its reach and impact.  This comes as the charity will then appoint one further Trustee who will represent the community organisations they provide food to later this year.  

The Felix Project has appointed: 

• Matt Birch the UK Country Manager at Amazon Fresh, who supply The Felix Project with food. Matt has a wealth of retail experience, having worked previously as Director at Sainsburys and Central England Co-operative.  
• Paul Drechsler CBE is an experienced business leader. He is the current president of SCI®, a Non-Executive Director of Schroders & Co. and Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce UK. He is also the former chair at BusinessLDN.  
• Adam Park the CEO of Hello Fresh UK, the largest meal kit provider in the UK and another long-term supplier of surplus and Felix partner.  

 The new trustees bring an extensive range of skills and expertise across many areas including the food industry, income generation, health & safety and public policy, vital sectors within the work of The Felix Project. 

Their wealth of knowledge and understanding within their own sectors will also help The Felix Project enhance specific areas and their insight and diverse experience will help the charity to continue to innovate and improve the charities influence within London. Ultimately ensuring the charity can be there to rescue more food and get it to communities partners across London.   

All three new members are delighted about their selection. Matt Birch said: “I’m excited and humbled to be joining the Felix Project. It’s an organisation I’ve followed for some time and watched grow through a passionate pursuit of getting the surplus stock of the food industry to the people who need it most. I love how the team innovate and solve problems at pace to better serve their communities, and can’t wait to play a part in the future”. 

Paul Drechsler CBE said: “London is the greatest capital city in the world, but not for everyone. The Felix Project is a fabulous charity that last year distributed 32 million meals to Londoners in need. I am thrilled to be joining a great team whose vision I totally share ‘A London where no one goes hungry and no food is ever wasted’.” 

Adam Park said: “In the UK, more than enough food is produced to feed everyone; yet too many people experience chronic food insecurity while enormous amounts of surplus food go to waste every day. Addressing this is an urgent and important challenge for our society and our planet, and I look forward to contributing to The Felix Project’s vision of London where no-one goes hungry and good food is never wasted”. 

The three members will officially start when they attend their first meeting in April and in May the Board will commence recruitment of one further trustee from the communities they serve following this search which specifically targeted the food industry.

Gavin Darby, Chair of Trustees for The Felix Project said: “I am delighted to be welcoming our new trustee members. Their deep expertise across so many sectors and their enthusiasm and commitment to our work can only benefit The Felix Project and help us drive forward with our mission to ensure no good food is wasted and no Londoner goes hungry.”   

Picture: Charlotte Hill OBE, Adam Park, Matt Birch, Paul Drechsler CBE, Cath Thorpe, Gavin Darby, Justin Byam Shaw OBE