Thanks a million, say families looked after in the lockdown

BENEFICIARIES of our Food For London Now campaign have spoken of their “gratitude and relief” for the help they have received from our appeal partner, The Felix Project, in feeding them and their families since lockdown.

Paula Sarri-Gonzalez, 29, an unemployed single mother with three children, said that after paying the bills with her universal credit allowance, she had just £5 left for essentials at the end of the month — so the food she received from Sufra Food Bank, supplied by The Felix Project, has been a massive support. “Without the food parcels, I don’t know how I would have fed my kids,” she said. “It has been a huge relief.”

Malek, an asylum seeker who asked us to change his name, said he was grateful for our campaign because it had linked him to the Brixton Refugee Community Kitchen that now provides him with food parcels, also supplied by The Felix Project. Gabriel Oti, 50, a psychiatrist recovering from a diabetic coma who receives meals from the charity Made In Hackney — which has also been supplied by The Felix Project — said: “I think your campaign tackling hunger is absolutely essential.”

John McIntyre, a former music manager who suffers with a respiratory condition and lives alone in Dalston, is also helped by Made in Hackney. He is still shielding and is unable to see friends at his flat. He said: “We’ve got difficult times ahead, but it’s been inspirational to see what has been achieved.”