Making an Impact: HartDixon and The Felix Project

This year, our commitment to sustainability and aligning our brand’s goals with the UN SDGs, starts with our day at The Felix Project on 21st March 2024.

In preparation for our charity day at The Felix Project, we had the opportunity to speak with Charlie Neal, Press and Strategic Communications Manager, of their team to gain insight into the charity’s mission, its biggest challenges, and the significant role that volunteers play within the community.

The Felix Project is an extraordinary organisation, dedicated to delivering pre-packed nutritious meals throughout every borough of London. In 2023 alone, they distributed an impressive 32 million meals, utilising food that would have otherwise been wasted. This initiative not only supports community well-being but also champions sustainability by reducing food waste.

We asked Charlie…

Q: What would you say The Felix Project’s greatest challenge of 2024 is?

“The greatest challenge is the high demand for our services. Every week, we deliver to over 1,000 organisations across London, but we still have more than 600 new organisations on our waiting list, who we cannot help until we get more funding.

There are too many people who can’t put food on their table; so, they’re turning to services like food banks and community cupboards to get help. In our recent survey of over 600 organisations we support, we found a huge 89% are expecting an increased demand for their services this year.”

Q: Where does funding for The Felix Project come from?

“It covers the cost of collecting, storing and delivering the food, which in the last few years has increased significantly. We are always looking for innovative ways to save both more food and money, as well as doing whatever we can to help communities in need.

We are very lucky to work with some incredible suppliers, who support us in so many ways – such as money, surplus food and volunteers. Companies like Ocado and Hello Fresh are hugely supportive, but anyone who can give us surplus food is truly amazing as we always need more.

We did get some funding from the Mayor of London last year; it helped us fund our holiday programme which feeds children during the school holidays. Then we have various corporate supporters, trusts and foundations and individuals who continue to support our cause.”

Q: How does the work of volunteers benefit The Felix Project and the community?

“Quite frankly, we couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers and we wouldn’t perform at the same scale without them.

Last year, we had 15,000 volunteers give up an incredible 150,000 hours of their time. There are volunteers who come in every day and we always welcome them with open arms.

The volunteers carry out various tasks, such as collecting, sorting and delivering our food. In Poplar we also have Felix’s kitchen where volunteers help chop, prepare and pack meals made by our team there, we send out up to 5,000 nutritious and delicious meals every day.”

Q: What would you say the main takeaway is for your volunteers?

“The main thing that people are shocked by is the amount of food being thrown away every day, that could have been eaten.

Another thing is how much fun our volunteers have when they come in! We’ve had amazing feedback from so many people who have said what a great experience it was to be able to help others and have fun while they’re doing it.”

As we look forward to contributing our efforts to The Felix Project, it’s clear that volunteers not only play a significant role in the charity’s operations but also gain valuable perspectives on food waste and the joy reward of helping others.