The road-up covers the number of experience and data that make our capital nice – from politics and media, the humanities, music, meals, to science and drugs.
The charity gave out the equal of 32 million meals to individuals throughout each London borough.
Over the following few months, we’ll be showcasing extra individuals from the checklist, so ensure you regulate our feed.
You will discover The Normal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you stream.
Right here’s a completely automated transcript of this episode:
From London, I am Rachelle Abbott, and that is The Normal.
The London Normal is unveiling The Normal 100, a listing of the highest 100 women and men shaping the capital in 2024.
The extraordinary lineup covers a spread of classes and sectors that make our capital nice, from politics and media, the humanities, music, meals, to science and drugs.
To search out out extra, this is The London Normal’s editor-in-chief, Dylan Jones.
Our capital is clearly the best metropolis on the planet, and we now have such a wealth of artistic expertise in London.
And periodically, we prefer to have fun that, which is what we have completed this week by selecting 100 individuals who the collective minds of The Normal suppose are shaping our metropolis.
And that is individuals concerned in music and style, tradition and leisure, politics, science, transport, artwork, and setting, eating places, all kinds of people who find themselves usually contributing to the success and the cultural IP and the expansion of our metropolis.
London is so nice as a result of I feel there’s something regenerative concerning the metropolis.
Technology after era of extremely proficient individuals appear to come back to London and are born by London.
And though London could be a very difficult place to develop up in and even to maneuver to, it regularly surprises itself, I feel, with this, as I say, this fixed regeneration of younger terribly proficient individuals.
And this checklist is a mirrored image of a few of these younger individuals in addition to some individuals who have been extra established and who contribute to the IP and the overall artistic welfare of our metropolis.
And you may see this checklist in in the present day’s paper, The London Normal, so please decide one up.
Over the following few months, we’ll be showcasing these on the checklist.
Right this moment, we’re kicking off with Charlotte Hill, Chief Govt of Meals Redistribution Charity, The Felix Mission, which final 12 months gave out the equal of 32 million meals to individuals throughout each London borough.
Welcome to the podcast, Charlotte.
Thanks a lot for having me.
No, it is a pleasure to have you ever.
For any listeners that do not know, what’s the story behind The Felix Mission?
What do you do and the way do you use?
So I’ve the good privilege of being the Chief Govt of The Felix Mission.
We rescue surplus meals that will in any other case go to waste.
We type it in our warehouses or we prepare dinner it in Felix’s kitchen, after which we distribute it to over 1,200 charities day-after-day, proper throughout the 12 months, 364 days a 12 months.
And we do this with the assistance of 15,000 wonderful volunteers.
And we’re on monitor to do about 37 million meals this 12 months, to present you a way of the size.
And the rationale why we’re known as The Felix Mission is as a result of there was a superb younger man known as Felix, who was keen about each meals waste and meals insecurity.
He had performed soccer towards boys who had not eaten breakfast.
And he thought this was completely horrible, that there have been boys of his age who hadn’t eaten.
And so he was a passionate campaigner about this work.
Now, very tragically, and all of a sudden, he died at age 14.
And his mother and father, after his loss of life, thought reasonably than do one thing round meningitis, which is what he died of, they thought what can be impacts that Felix would need to have on the planet had he lived.
And they also arrange The Felix Mission, which is that this magical group that genuinely provides hope to hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Londoners each week who’re in any other case struggling to place meals on the desk, in addition to having a extremely important environmental influence.
And the way lengthy did it take from growing the concept to when it kicked off?
So we’re eight years previous as a company now.
So we had been a extremely younger charity nonetheless, and we now have scaled extremely rapidly, but it surely began off simply as a really small sort of storage in West London, the place we had been doing actually small volumes.
And has scaled now, we have 4 completely different warehouses that do meals throughout London in North, South, East and West London.
We have now one thing known as Felix’s Multibank out West the place we rescue different surplus objects like toiletries and bedding and hygiene merchandise that we give to communities who’re struggling.
we now have Felix’s Kitchen the place we prepare dinner about 5,000 meals a day.
Are you doing any work with the federal government?
We’re working with the federal government.
I imply, we work with native authorities on a regular basis.
We work with Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, who’s been an incredible supporter of our work, each throughout the sort of vacation starvation programmes we’re doing.
However really, we’re in the intervening time asking the nationwide authorities to essentially assist us entry extra surplus meals.
There may be a lot meals wasted on the farm gate notably that we may very well be accessing.
However equally, there’s plenty of completely different legislative or regulatory issues the federal government might do this imply we might entry much more meals.
So there’s rather a lot we’re asking Rachel Reeves to do that week, but in addition really throughout authorities round how we are able to most assist individuals with getting that meals out of the meals system to individuals in want.
Inform us about your background.
What led you to work at The Felix Mission?
That is my third charity chief government job.
I used to be a charity chief government of two different organizations working with younger individuals previous to the pandemic.
After which through the pandemic, I noticed how many individuals had been struggling.
And this trigger simply actually spoke to me as one thing that was actually necessary.
And so I utilized to hitch The Felix Mission about three years in the past now.
And can’t inform you what a joyful job it’s.
I feel you’ll be able to think about that generally once you’re coping with people who find themselves actually struggling to eat, it might really feel prefer it’s a extremely hopeless and a tricky time.
And it by no means looks like that at Felix.
Felix is a spot the place individuals come of their hundreds to volunteer as a result of it’s an empowering, joyful, can-do place the place a group of individuals come collectively to say, We do not need this meals to go to waste.
We wish it to go to individuals who really want it.
Really, it is essentially the most energizing, superior place to work.
It looks like actually such a present of a job to get to do.
And what drives you in your function as Chief Exec?
Effectively, quite a lot of issues.
I suppose the very first thing is the influence we now have.
You would need to have a coronary heart of stone to not really feel actually pleased with the truth that one, this meals can be going to waste if it wasn’t from this group, which is in itself an environmental scandal.
However secondly, to see the influence the meals has, you realize, I am a mum of two, I can not think about the stress of not with the ability to put meals on the desk for them.
So I feel one of many issues that drives me is, it is sensible to see the influence that this meals has.
However the different factor is that group of individuals I described earlier, it’s so motivating to be surrounded by such sensible, spectacular, dedicated, devoted colleagues, colleagues and volunteers who all come collectively, in addition to that wider group of meals provide companions, the group organizations and funders and volunteers.
It is simply, it is an incredible place to work.
So I am motivated by the impacts, however I am extremely motivated by the individuals as effectively.
What’s essentially the most difficult a part of your job?
Essentially the most troublesome half is the truth that we assist 1,200 group organizations, however we now have about 750 on our ready checklist.
In order that’s 750 home violence shelters or homeless shelters or meals banks who’re all asking for our meals and who we won’t but present to.
And except we get three issues, a rise in funding, a rise in meals and a rise in volunteers, we simply will not be capable to attain them.
I prefer to be scared and a bit challenged day-after-day by doing one thing outdoors my consolation zone.
And I feel that is the way you develop.
And failure and all of these issues is how we get higher.
We’ll see you again right here in only a minute.
So, how does it really feel to be on The Normal’s 100 checklist?
I feel it is a huge testomony to The Felix Mission, really, and the place it has now, as we need to be one in every of London’s best-loved charities.
And it actually looks like that.
This is a corporation by Londoners for Londoners.
As I stated, hundreds of Londoners come and provides their time to Felix yearly.
And that is as a result of it is an incredible place.
So clearly, it is a huge privilege to be named.
However really, that is about The Felix Mission.
That is about the truth that this group is now a extremely necessary a part of the infrastructure of London.
I soar off the bed each morning massively motivated by my job.
And naturally, it is beautiful for an incredible establishment like The Night Normal, who’ve been an unbelievable companion to The Felix Mission for a lot of, a few years.
A lot of our volunteers I communicate to, once I say, how did you discover out about The Felix Mission?
They usually say, I examine it in The Normal.
So I at all times really feel like we have this lovely sort of partnership with The Normal, the place you have actually helped us develop and have impacts.
So there’s something beautiful about The Normal, recognising the work of The Felix Mission and all that we do.
And it is after all motivating for us all to have that work recognised.
So an enormous thanks to The Normal.
It is actually humbling and wonderful that you’ve got been with us on this journey.
Again to you and your profession.
Have you ever confronted any challenges that you simply really feel have helped you in the long term?
I at all times say to my group that I might love to do one thing day-after-day that provides me a sweaty palm second.
I prefer to be scared and a bit challenged day-after-day by doing one thing outdoors my consolation zone.
And I feel that is the way you develop.
And failure and all of these issues is how we get higher.
I at all times try to say to my children in addition to my colleagues, like, do not be afraid of failure.
And should you’re not failing, it means you are not making an attempt.
It means you are not making an attempt new issues.
It means you are not innovating.
And goodness, I’ve learnt essentially the most from failure.
And in all types of various roles, the place issues have not gone fairly how I needed it to, my colleague and I speak about full profit.
How do you get the complete profit out of any state of affairs you are in?
And even when it has been a extremely, actually garbage day, on the finish of the day, should you can sort of look within the mirror and say, have I bought the complete profit out of at the present time, which implies have I taken each ounce of the training out of the day?
Then I feel that is an excellent day, even when it has been a tricky day.
Now, you meet lots of people in your line of labor.
Are there any examples that stick out in your thoughts of a few of the individuals that you have helped by the years?
I at all times suppose that we sort of should not body it that it is about how The Felix Mission has helped individuals as a result of we’re genuinely a partnership.
So all of these group organizations, and I will offer you a few examples that we distribute meals to, with out them, then it is simply meals.
However what these group organizations do is that they use that surplus meals for wonderful social good.
So if, for instance, we will a trustful belief meals financial institution, the place we’re taking meals to them, however alongside the meals, they’re providing residents recommendation bureau recommendation to assist individuals out of poverty, or they’re providing employability expertise, or there is a well being employee there ensuring vaccines are being distributed, or persons are having their blood strain checked.
, alongside getting meals, which is after all a necessary factor, they’re getting all the remainder of these issues which can be serving to them step out of that cycle of poverty, or no matter it’s that is led them to being there.
So, I do not suppose we must always give it some thought as being a manner that we’re serving to individuals.
I feel it is a manner that we’re partnering with wonderful grassroots group organizations to do unbelievable social impacts.
And one which involves thoughts is that this wonderful chap known as Father Neil, who’s a vicar in East London, in Tower Hamlets, very near our depot in Tower Hamlets.
And I speak to Father Neil most weeks.
He comes into the depot, or we simply take meals out to him.
And he at all times describes the influence that that meals has for, I feel it is about 200 households each week.
And he describes Thursday as the brand new Sunday at his church, as a result of Thursday is the day they offer out the Felix meals.
However it’s additionally one of the impactful issues that he and his group have completed.
They have been working with The Felix Mission for a few years now.
And really, the tales that he comes and tells me each week concerning the influence that the meals and the multibank merchandise are having for his parishioners.
What are your plans for the longer term with The Felix Mission?
Are you going to department out nationwide?
We’re actually targeted on London.
We all know that London completely wants us.
As I simply described, we nonetheless have an enormous variety of group organizations we’re not reaching but.
And many of the group organizations we distribute meals to are asking us for extra.
So we’re going to redouble our efforts.
We’re very a lot targeted on how we are able to work with the federal government to try to entry extra surplus meals in a way more systemic manner.
We work hand in glove with the retailers and producers.
However as I stated, there’s plenty of various things we might do with authorities that will actually make an enormous step change in how we entry surplus meals.
So an enormous push for us is pulling a few of these levers that we are able to pull working in authorities with plenty of our different companions within the meals redistribution sector to essentially drive correct embedded systemic change round how we entry meals on this nation.
And we’re opening a extremely thrilling processing unit in South London at first of subsequent 12 months the place we will be turning huge seasonal gluts of surplus meals into issues like soups and sauces and all types of various issues, dehydrating issues, turning them into pesto and issues.
So we’re at all times innovating, we’re at all times making an attempt new issues, however that is going to be opening within the new 12 months as an thrilling new enterprise for The Felix Mission.
Can I simply ask yet one more query really about you?
Once you had been rising up, had been there any traits you had that tie into now, or is your profession one thing you would not have imagined?
So I at all times credit score an enormous quantity of my drive to have social influence to my mum.
So I grew up in a single guardian family with a mum who did not have a lot and she or he labored so extremely laborious to ensure that me and my sister had selections.
She at all times grew up not likely having selections herself as a result of she grew up in actually robust occasions.
And he or she at all times stated to us that if I do nothing else, I need to ensure you ladies have selections and choices.
However alongside doing that, she additionally volunteered regionally and she or he would take us alongside.
Ever since I used to be a child, like I bear in mind going together with my mum when she was volunteering.
She did not have any alternative however to take us along with her.
So I sort of grew up with the concept of service, that service was what you probably did, that being a part of a group and caring about that group and being a part of it.
Even when you did not have very a lot your self, you would at all times give your time.
And so I feel due to the function mannequin I had in my mum, who’s simply an incredible and decided lady.
Yeah, I at all times really feel actually fortunate that even when we grew up with what would not historically have been thought that we had a lot, really we had rather a lot, we had rather a lot as a result of I had an ideal function mannequin who advised me that serving to different individuals is definitely the key to happiness.
And it is utterly true.
To view the complete checklist, head to straightforward.co.uk or decide up this week’s paper.
This podcast is again tomorrow at 4pm.
