The Felix Project
The Felix Project is a London-based charitable organisation founded in 2016 that rescues edible surplus food from suppliers across the food industry—such as supermarkets, wholesalers, and producers—and redistributes it free of charge to over 1,000 community groups, schools, and food relief programs serving vulnerable populations.[1][2] Its operations address dual challenges of food waste, with the UK discarding millions of tonnes of safe food annually, and food insecurity affecting households reliant on emergency provisions.[3] Established by entrepreneur Justin Byam Shaw initially with private funding and two distribution vans, the charity expanded rapidly through partnerships with food businesses donating surplus stock that cannot be sold due to cosmetic defects, overproduction, or short shelf lives, while ensuring compliance with food safety standards.[3] Byam Shaw, who received an OBE in 2023 for services to food redistribution, named the organisation after his son Felix, who died from meningitis in 2014; the initiative reflects a commitment to practical intervention in London's social needs without reliance on government subsidies for core logistics.[4] The project has distributed the equivalent of tens of millions of meals since inception, operating a fleet of refrigerated vehicles for daily collections and deliveries, and emphasizing efficiency in logistics to maximize nutritional impact—such as providing fresh produce and proteins to programs supporting children and low-income families.[3] While internal critiques have surfaced regarding workplace dynamics in employee reviews, no systemic operational scandals have emerged, with growth sustained by volunteer networks and corporate collaborations that prioritize surplus diversion from landfills over profit motives.[5]Founding and History
Origins and Establishment
The Felix Project was founded in 2016 by Justin Byam Shaw in London, United Kingdom, as a food redistribution charity aimed at rescuing surplus food from the industry to combat waste and hunger among vulnerable populations.[6][7] The initiative was directly inspired by the death of Shaw's 14-year-old son, Felix Byam Shaw, from meningitis in 2014, with the organization established to honor Felix's compassionate character and his desire to help those in need.[7][8] Felix had demonstrated early empathy for food insecurity, notably after noticing boys at a youth football tournament who had skipped breakfast due to lack of resources, prompting Shaw to channel this legacy into systemic action against food poverty.[8][7] Shaw personally funded the charity's early stages, focusing its mission on sourcing high-quality surplus from suppliers like wholesalers and supermarkets for redistribution to over 600 partner charities, schools, and community organizations serving London's at-risk groups.[6][9] Jane Byam Shaw, Felix's mother and Justin's wife, co-supported the effort, later recalling Felix's aversion to hunger: "He really hated the thought of anyone going hungry."[7] Registered as a charity (number 1168183) and limited company (number 10068253) in England and Wales, the project began operations with a singular emphasis on bridging food excess in the supply chain to immediate community needs, without initial reliance on broad public appeals.[1][2]Early Development and Growth
The Felix Project began operations in 2016 with modest infrastructure, utilizing a single van and a depot in west London to collect surplus food from an initial small network of suppliers, including local shops, and redistribute it to a handful of charities serving vulnerable populations.[10][11] This phase emphasized direct logistics for perishable goods, drawing on volunteer drivers to bridge suppliers and recipients amid London's food waste challenges.[12] Rapid expansion followed in the subsequent years, as the charity broadened its supplier base to encompass supermarkets, wholesalers, farms, and restaurants, while growing its recipient network to hundreds of community organizations, schools, and food banks across London boroughs.[8] By the close of its second year of operation in 2018, the organization had achieved a fivefold increase in food collection and delivery volumes, supported by enhancements in volunteer coordination and route planning to handle escalating demand.[12] Early metrics indicated that within the first six months, the project facilitated the equivalent of nearly 300,000 meals through redistributed surplus, scaling to approximately one million meals in the first year as operational efficiency improved.[13] This growth period also saw the addition of dedicated programs to optimize logistics, such as initial volunteer-driven route optimization initiatives, which addressed bottlenecks in perishable food handling and enabled the charity to establish itself as London's leading food redistribution entity by the early 2020s.[14] The expansion was fueled by increasing awareness of food insecurity post the charity's launch, with recipient organizations proactively seeking partnerships from the outset.[3]Recent Merger with FareShare
In September 2025, The Felix Project, London's largest food redistribution charity, announced its merger with FareShare, the UK's leading national food redistribution organization, to form a unified entity aimed at amplifying efforts against food waste and insecurity.[15][16] The merger integrates FareShare's established nationwide network, spanning over 30 years of operations and partnerships with more than 8,000 charities and 1,200 community organizations, with The Felix Project's specialized logistics and innovation in London, including its high-volume kitchen producing 5,000 meals per day.[15][16] The combined organization, set to operate as a single charity by 2026 under The Felix Project branding with phased integration, will be led by Charlotte Hill OBE as chief executive—previously CEO of The Felix Project—and Kris Gibbon-Walsh as deputy chief executive, formerly FareShare's CEO.[15][16] Dominic Blakemore, CEO of Compass Group, will serve as board chair, with Gavin Darby, former president of the Food and Drink Federation and current chair of The Felix Project, as vice-chair.[15] This leadership structure is intended to leverage complementary expertise for scaled operations.[15] Rationale for the merger centers on addressing the UK's annual food waste of 10.7 million tonnes and food insecurity affecting 14% of households, amid rising demand that individual charities struggle to meet alone.[15] Proponents cite enhanced efficiency in rescuing surplus food from farms, manufacturers, and retailers; pooled resources for greater funding and policy influence, such as advocating for initiatives like a proposed £15 million fund for farm surplus redistribution; and amplified social impact, with the pre-merger entities already delivering 148 million meal equivalents in 2024/25 and generating £13 in social value per £1 donated.[15][16] Charlotte Hill emphasized the goal of achieving "a nation where no good food is wasted and nobody goes hungry," while the merger is projected to support over 1 million people annually through expanded redistribution.[15] No significant operational disruptions or financial details of the merger have been publicly disclosed as of October 2025, though the focus remains on strengthening resilience for communities facing economic pressures.[15][16]Operations and Methods
Food Rescue Processes
The Felix Project rescues surplus food primarily from the food industry supply chain, including supermarkets, wholesalers, restaurants, farms, and manufacturers, where items such as fresh produce, meat, fish, dairy, and baked goods become excess due to overproduction, cosmetic imperfections, or nearing sell-by dates.[17][9] Suppliers notify the organization of available surplus, which is then collected via a fleet of over 65 refrigerated vans operating seven days a week on a free door-to-door basis, often driven by volunteers.[18][19] This collection targets high-quality, nutritious food that would otherwise be discarded, with the organization handling both one-off donations and regular pickups from over 500 suppliers as of 2024.[20] Upon arrival at one of The Felix Project's depots—such as those in Park Royal, Poplar, or the newer Deptford Food Factory—volunteers and staff sort the food by type, check for quality and safety, and separate items unfit for redistribution.[21][11] Sorting emphasizes rapid processing to maintain freshness, with short-shelf-life items prioritized; the Deptford facility, operational since 2025, enables processing of perishable gluts like excess fruits or vegetables that require immediate handling, such as peeling or portioning, to extend usability.[11] All handling adheres to UK food safety legislation, including full traceability from donor to recipient, temperature-controlled storage in refrigerated units, and training for over 15,000 volunteers and employees on hygiene and compliance; retailer authorizations from partners like Sainsbury's and Ocado ensure safe resale or donation protocols are followed.[18] Redistribution occurs swiftly, typically within hours or days, to over 1,000 community partners including food banks, schools, homeless shelters, and community centers across London's 32 boroughs, prioritizing deprived areas.[18][22] Deliveries use the same refrigerated logistics network, with recipient organizations required to demonstrate safe handling capabilities and report usage for accountability.[17] Specialized initiatives like Farm Rescue involve volunteer-led gleaning—harvesting unpicked crops directly from Kent farms—to capture primary production surplus, which is then transported and integrated into the sorting process.[23] In 2024, these methods enabled the rescue of 15,846 tonnes of food, equivalent to 38 million meals, underscoring the efficiency of time-sensitive logistics in minimizing waste while maximizing nutritional delivery.[24]Redistribution Network and Logistics
The Felix Project operates a centralized redistribution network focused on London, collecting surplus food from approximately 328 suppliers, including major retailers such as Sainsbury's and Ocado, wholesalers, restaurants, and farms.[24][18] The Supply Chain and Distribution team coordinates daily pickups using a fleet of over 65 refrigerated vans, which operate seven days a week to ensure rapid transport of perishable items while maintaining food safety standards and traceability.[18][25] Collections emphasize high-quality, edible surplus that would otherwise be wasted, with logistics designed for efficiency, including specialized vehicles and containers for safe handling.[18] At four depots across London, collected food is sorted, organized, and packed by teams of staff and volunteers, with redistribution typically occurring within hours or days to preserve freshness.[24][25] For produce requiring further preparation, Felix's Kitchen—launched in July 2021—processes surplus into cooked meals, which are packaged, labeled, chilled, and readied for delivery, preventing additional waste from short-shelf-life items.[13] A new Felix Food Factory in Deptford, operational as of 2025, expands processing capacity for glut items and perishables that cannot be immediately redistributed.[24] In 2024, these operations handled 15,846 tonnes of food, supported by 13,398 volunteers contributing over 146,000 hours for tasks like sorting and van assistance.[24] Distribution occurs via the same fleet, delivering free of charge to over 1,000 partner organizations weekly, including food banks, schools, soup kitchens, and community programs in deprived areas, reaching an estimated 500,000 individuals.[18][24] The network prioritizes frontline charities and maintains a waiting list of over 600 organizations, with electric vans integrated to enhance sustainability in urban logistics.[18][25] This model has enabled the equivalent of 38 million meals redistributed in 2024, equivalent to £63 million in food value.[24]Partnerships with Suppliers and Recipients
The Felix Project establishes partnerships with food industry suppliers to rescue surplus edible food that would otherwise be wasted, primarily through scheduled collections or direct deliveries to its warehouses. Suppliers encompass supermarkets, wholesalers, farms, restaurants, delis, and producers, with the organization sourcing from over 300 such entities as of 2024.[26] These collaborations enable the recovery of diverse items, including fresh produce via the Felix Fresh initiative, which processes and redistributes items like fruits and vegetables to extend their usability.[27] Notable examples include HelloFresh, which has donated ingredients equivalent to over 4.9 million meals since 2017, and IFCO Systems, which supports logistics for reusable packaging to facilitate food donations.[28][29] On the recipient side, the charity redistributes rescued food free of charge to more than 1,200 community organizations, charities, schools, and similar entities across all 32 London boroughs, reaching approximately 500,000 individuals weekly.[24][11] Recipients primarily serve vulnerable groups such as homeless shelters, domestic abuse refuges, and after-school programs, with over 50% operating in London's five most deprived neighborhoods; examples include the Black Prince Trust community center.[24] Distribution occurs via a coordinated logistics network involving sorting at Felix Project facilities and scheduled deliveries, supplemented by prepared meals from its in-house kitchen—nearly 1.3 million such meals in 2024 alone.[24] In total, these partnerships facilitated the redistribution of 15,846 tonnes of food (valued at £63 million) equivalent to 38 million meals in the year ending May 2025.[24][30]Impact and Effectiveness
Quantifiable Achievements and Metrics
In 2024, The Felix Project rescued and redistributed 15,846 tonnes of surplus food from the food industry, equivalent to providing 38 million meals to more than 1,200 community organizations serving vulnerable populations in London.[24][30] This volume of food, valued at approximately £63 million, prevented waste while addressing immediate hunger needs.[30] The organization also distributed 1.46 million non-food items, such as hygiene products and household essentials, to support broader welfare efforts.[24] Prior to 2024, The Felix Project's operations scaled significantly; in 2022, it rescued over 12,000 tonnes of food, sufficient to produce more than 29 million meals.[31] Specialized programs contributed further: Felix's Kitchen prepared 1.3 million meals from surplus ingredients between July 2021 and December 2022, averting 516 tonnes of waste.[13] In 2023, the charity doubled its frozen food rescues to 362 tonnes, equating to nearly 862,000 additional meals.[32] Environmental metrics underscore efficiency: the 2024 rescues avoided nearly 18,000 tonnes of embedded CO2 emissions associated with food production and disposal.[33] These outcomes reflect logistical expansions, including a fleet of refrigerated vehicles and partnerships with over 500 suppliers, enabling weekly distributions reaching approximately 500,000 individuals indirectly through recipient charities.[24] Independent evaluations, such as those commissioned for fundraising, have validated these figures by tracking delivery logs and waste diversion data.[34]Broader Societal Effects
By redistributing surplus food, The Felix Project has contributed to environmental sustainability by preventing an estimated 17,730 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions in 2024 through the avoidance of food waste disposal, which accounts for 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.[24][35] The embedded greenhouse gases in the 16,000 tonnes of rescued food exceeded 21,000 tonnes of CO₂e that year, underscoring the scale of diverted waste from landfills and incineration.[30] These efforts align with broader reductions in resource inefficiency, including water and land use associated with uneaten food production. On the social front, the organization's redistribution network has bolstered community resilience by delivering food to over 1,200 organizations across all 32 London boroughs, reaching approximately 500,000 individuals weekly, with 50% of supplies directed to the city's five most deprived neighborhoods.[24] This has enabled recipient charities to redirect saved funds toward non-food services, such as health and employability programs, including training for 64 participants in skills like first aid and forklift operation over two years.[24] Additionally, initiatives like Felix's Multibank, launched in July 2024, have distributed 1.5 million non-food household items to 95,000 people weekly, addressing multidimensional poverty and supporting vulnerable groups including children, the elderly, and the homeless.[11] The Felix Project has influenced policy to foster systemic improvements in food security and waste management, establishing a Policy Unit in 2024 that secured £15 million in government funding in February 2024 for a farm surplus redistribution pilot, later re-announced to deliver 60 million meals nationwide and avert 45,000 tonnes of CO₂e.[24][35] Advocacy efforts include pushing for a UK Good Samaritan law to reduce donation liabilities—modeled on U.S. precedents—and collaborating with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to reform farmer subsidies, aiming to elevate redistribution rates from 1% to 8% of surplus produce.[11] Partnerships with the Mayor of London have targeted holiday hunger, providing free school-break meals, while overall operations have saved recipient organizations millions in procurement costs, as evidenced by £37 million in charity savings from 30 million equivalent meals in 2021.[36]Criticisms and Limitations
Employee reviews on platforms such as Glassdoor have highlighted internal criticisms regarding workplace culture at The Felix Project, with some former staff describing the organization as having become "rotten to the core" in recent years due to top management's alleged promotion of toxic individuals and poor leadership practices.[37] Despite an overall employee recommendation rate of 86% and a 4.3 out of 5 rating on Glassdoor based on 25 reviews, isolated accounts point to issues like favoritism and a deteriorating work environment post-early growth phases.[38] Similarly, reviews on Indeed and Breakroom note high-pressure responsibilities and multiple overlapping roles contributing to stress, though these are balanced by praise for the mission's social impact.[39][40] Operationally, The Felix Project's model relies heavily on unpredictable surplus food donations from the industry, which can fluctuate with economic conditions, supply chain disruptions, or retailer policies, limiting consistent redistribution volumes despite record achievements like 15,846 tonnes rescued in 2024.[24] Prior to the September 2025 merger with FareShare, its London-centric focus constrained national scalability, addressing only regional hunger and waste while broader UK food insecurity persisted, with charities collectively rescuing just 1% of edible surplus.[41][42] Logistical challenges, including coordinating volunteer drivers in congested urban areas and manual route planning before digital upgrades, have historically increased inefficiencies, though initiatives like the RouteMe app mitigated some of these by reducing manual data entry hours.[19][43] Critics of food redistribution charities more broadly, including models like The Felix Project's, argue that such efforts provide symptomatic relief without tackling root causes of food poverty, such as wage stagnation or policy failures, potentially fostering dependency among recipients and diverting attention from systemic reforms.[44] The organization's emphasis on short-term rescue and delivery, while effective for immediate needs, has faced implicit scrutiny in evaluations noting the need for complementary advocacy to influence farming incentives and reduce upstream waste generation.[45] No major public scandals or regulatory inquiries have been reported by the Charity Commission as of October 2025, underscoring its operational integrity amid these constraints.[30]Funding and Sustainability
Revenue Sources
The Felix Project derives the majority of its revenue from voluntary contributions, including donations, grants, and in-kind support from corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals. In the financial year ended 31 December 2023, total income reached £12,880,736, with donations and grants accounting for £12,669,921, or over 98% of the total.[46] This reliance on philanthropic and public sector funding underscores the charity's dependence on external goodwill rather than commercial activities, as other income streams such as trading (£9,792) and investments (£172,484) remained negligible.[46] Corporate partnerships and donations formed the largest category within voluntary income, contributing £5,665,057 in 2023, reflecting collaborations with food industry entities and businesses like Bloomberg, Canary Wharf Group, and Ocado Retail, which provide both monetary support and surplus food logistics.[46] Government grants followed closely at £2,393,216, including a significant £2 million allocation from the Greater London Authority via the Mayor's Fund for London to fund the distribution of 7 million meals.[46] Trusts and foundations added £2,219,980, with key supporters such as the Garfield Weston Foundation, Rothschild Foundation, and Pears Family Charitable Foundation.[46] Individual giving (£592,609) and community fundraising events (£746,600) supplemented these, while major donors provided £920,514 and donated goods/services valued at £131,945.[46]| Income Category (2023) | Amount (£) | Proportion of Total Income (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate & Partnerships | 5,665,057 | 44.0 |
| Government Grants | 2,393,216 | 18.6 |
| Trusts & Foundations | 2,219,980 | 17.2 |
| Community & Challenges | 746,600 | 5.8 |
| Major Donors | 920,514 | 7.1 |
| Individual Giving | 592,609 | 4.6 |
| Donated Goods/Services | 131,945 | 1.0 |
| Other (Trading, Investments, etc.) | 210,815 | 1.6 |