Community

Sameur Rahman and The Felix Project, rescuing surplus food for the people who need it most

For Sameur Rahman, volunteering with The Felix Project is about more than handing out food – it’s about making a tangible difference in the lives of Londoners. “Our volunteers leave knowing that hundreds of people are going to eat as a result of what they’ve done that day,” he says.

Created as a lasting memory of Justin and Jane Byam Shaws’ son, The Felix Project redistributes food to those in need across London. The Felix Project has a clear vision: “Our vision is of a London where no good food is wasted and no one goes hungry. And we proudly do it in his honour.” The project works to deliver fresh, high-quality food to the city’s most deprived communities. “We are getting to the most deprived communities of London but with incredible quality, fresh, healthy, not ultra-processed food.”

The scale of the challenge is immense, but Sameur is optimistic. “There’s so much more to go at – at a time when people are massively living in food insecurity and struggling to put food on the table. We’re just beginning.” The Felix Project tackles the inefficiencies in food distribution head-on. “It’s a scandal that less than 1% of surplus food gets to humans. We’re basically the bridge between the supply and demand. We unlock as much surplus food as we can, then make sure we’re getting it to the people who need it as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

Central to the project’s success is its passionate volunteer community. “We have an amazing community of humans. It’s heavenly – one of the reasons we say there’s Felix magic in everything, because there’s such a buzz coming to Felix.”

By connecting surplus food with those who need it most, The Felix Project demonstrates how communities can come together to tackle pressing social challenges.