There with you: Feast With Us keeps community fed

Volunteers from Feast With Us have been providing hot meals to Camden, Islington and Haringey residents throughout the pandemic.

The project was set up as a community-led project by NHS dietitian Hannah Style in 2015 before becoming a registered charity in 2017.

Volunteers provide around 600 meals on average each week, delivering 200 of those by car, bike and foot.

The charity said demand for its services skyrocketed by 300 per cent during the pandemic – it served 2,000 meals per week to vulnerable individuals in London.

Feast With Us volunteers cook and deliver food to people in north London (Image: Feast With Us)

Founder Hannah Style, who is based in Barnet, told the Ham&High: "Covid-19 has been a real challenge. It's incredible that we've been able to grow with the growing rates of food poverty, but also devastating that food poverty has grown.

"We've managed to massively increase our output and grown ten-fold with the help of our amazing volunteers."

During the pandemic Feast was unable to offer its community cooking sessions, where meal recipients help volunteers prepare food, and instead prioritised home deliveries.

"We hope to continue inviting vulnerable people into the kitchen with us in the future," Hannah said. "It's not just about food aid, but people gaining skills and making change in a sustainable way."

The charity said demand for hot meals has grown during the pandemic (Image: Feast With Us)

In October, Feast was joined by employment company Maximus staff members, who spent the day preparing meals for local residents.

Fatima Iqbal from Maximus said: “As a charity that tackles food waste and food poverty, Feast With Us have seen a drastic increase in demand for their meals.

"Taking part in a volunteer day like this allows employees to really understand the issue, whilst learning how the charity goes about addressing it.

"We saw first-hand the hard work required to plan, cook and deliver meals to those in the local community who need this service most."

Maximus staff member Marie O’Leary helped out in the kitchen (Image: Maximus UK)

People can be referred to Feast With Us or they can self-refer here: www.feastwithus.org.uk/eat

The north London charity provides hot meals to people in Camden, Islington and Haringey (Image: Feast With Us)

Feast With Us cooked served 2,000 meals per week during lockdown (Image: Feast With Us)

The charity has started a new low-emission delivery programme using volunteer cyclists (Image: Feast With Us)

Feast With Us volunteers cook hundreds of meals for those in need (Image: Feast With Us)