Charity initiative to deliver surplus essentials to 40,000 families in London

By Alan Jones, Reporter23rd July 2024News EnglandCharities, London, News England, Poverty / Austerity

A new charity initiative is being launched to donate more than 400,000 surplus essential goods to 40,000 families in need across London over the next year.

The capital’s first so-called Multibank is led by the Felix Project, with support from online giant Amazon, former prime minister Gordon Brown, and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

The service will provide essentials like toiletries, baby products, cleaning goods and bedding donated by Amazon, and other national and regional businesses.

It is an expansion of the Multibank network, co-founded by Gordon Brown and Amazon, which has now donated more than three million essential goods to help more than 400,000 families in Scotland, Greater Manchester and Wales.

The project has drawn support from Mr Khan, who has committed £250,000 to help with running costs for the London site.

Additional funding has been provided through the Multibank Fund, established with £1 million of funding from Amazon and Comic Relief, to help finance the expansion of Multibanks in areas of need across the UK.

Amazon employees will work on-site for the first full year of operation, and the company will provide logistics support to transport the donations to community organisations across London.

Charlotte Hill (pictured), chief executive of the Felix Project, said: “Every day The Felix Project is helping to provide healthy and nutritious meals to people in need across London, but we know it is not just food they want.

“For those on low incomes all items are a struggle to afford, from toiletries and cleaning products to bedding and other household goods.

“Thanks to this incredible partnership, Felix’s Multibank will be able to ensure our network of community organisations can provide more of the things people need and just as importantly prevent perfectly usable items from going to waste.”

Gordon Brown said: “As I go round the country, I find too many children growing up in homes without heating, bedrooms without beds, floors without floor coverings, kitchens without kitchen utensils and bathrooms without soap, shampoo or toothpaste.

“Having gained experience from the benefits to families of our Multibanks in Scotland, the north west of England and Wales, we are delighted now to work with The Felix Project, who have such a strong reputation for doing good in the capital.

“Felix’s Multibank will be able to take a holistic view of the overall need of the families they serve and provide some of the non-food basics for those in greatest need across London.

“We are grateful to the companies and foundations who are supporting the Multibanks and to the Felix Project for joining with us to make the rollout in London possible.”

John Boumphrey, UK country manager of Amazon, said: “Since 2020 we have supported the Felix Project’s mission to fight food waste and hunger with more than 10 million meals, as well vans and drivers to transport food to Londoners in need every week.

“Through Felix’s Multibank, we will help many more vulnerable families across London by providing surplus essentials from Amazon and other businesses to those who need them most.

“We’ve already supported more than 400,000 families from our existing Multibanks, giving those experiencing poverty access to the essentials they need while contributing to a more circular economy.”