In 2025, Be Enriched was honoured to receive The King’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award given to volunteer groups in the UK. The award recognises over a decade of community-led work tackling food insecurity, social isolation and food waste across South London.

At Be Enriched, we bring people together through food and friendship. Our Community Canteens are welcoming spaces where volunteers transform surplus ingredients into nutritious three-course meals shared by neighbours from across the community. Guests come for good food, but many also come for conversation, connection and a sense of belonging.

Alongside our canteens, our Food Bus and Food Float operate as mobile greengrocers, bringing low-cost fruit, vegetables and cupboard staples to neighbourhoods where affordable, healthy food is difficult to access. During school holidays, our Kids Clubs provide meals, cooking activities and creative workshops for children who receive free school meals during term time.

Be Enriched was founded in 2013 by CEO Kemi Akinola, whose own experience of falling through the cracks after a life-changing accident showed how quickly people can find themselves choosing between heating, eating and paying rent. That experience shaped our mission: using food as a tool to build community, dignity and opportunity.

Challenge

Across South London, the need for community food support continues to grow. A third of adults in London are living below the poverty line. More than 10,000 children start the school day without breakfast, and during school holidays access to free school meals disappears entirely. Many families are struggling to keep up with rising food and energy costs.

Older residents are also disproportionately affected. Some cannot afford regular meals, while others are unable to travel to shops or community spaces. Loneliness is a growing concern across the capital, with around 700,000 Londoners reporting that they feel lonely most or all of the time.

Food insecurity and isolation often go hand in hand. For many guests at our Community Canteens, these meals are not only about nutrition but also about having somewhere welcoming to go and people to talk to.

Without continued funding, organisations like ours cannot keep up with the increasing demand for affordable food and community spaces.

Solution

Each week our volunteers cook and serve three-course vegetarian meals at our Community Canteens, using surplus ingredients that would otherwise go to waste. These meals are free and open to everyone, creating welcoming environments where neighbours can sit together, share stories and build friendships.

Our Food Bus and Food Float travel across South London bringing affordable fruit, vegetables and essentials to communities where access to healthy food is limited. By selling produce at prices lower than many supermarkets, we help families stretch their budgets while still eating well.

During school holidays, our Kids Clubs provide children with nutritious meals alongside cooking sessions, games, arts and educational activities. These programmes help ensure children who rely on free school meals remain supported when schools are closed.

Together, these initiatives tackle food insecurity while strengthening the social connections that make communities more resilient.

Long-Term Impact

Be Enriched has been supporting South London communities for over a decade. Today we run three Community Canteens, the Food Bus Project, and Kids Clubs during school holidays, all powered by a growing network of volunteers. Every year we serve thousands of meals, rescue surplus food from going to waste, and create welcoming spaces where people can eat well and connect with others.

But the impact goes far beyond food. Our projects build stronger communities, reduce isolation and create opportunities for people to learn, volunteer and support one another.

With your support, we can continue expanding our reach, serving more meals, making healthy food accessible to more families, and ensuring no one in our community has to face hunger or loneliness alone.