Food for Nought
British Army Veteran calls for help to fight food poverty
Cocoa's Christmas Appeal: British Army Veteran battles back from the streets to declare war on hunger.
Story
Cocoa Fowler didn't have an easy start to life - he was raised in the care system, leaving school in 1983 to serve in the Royal Artillery. As a gunner Cocoa served his country for 15 years including a tour of Iraq.
After leaving the army Cocoa established a successful business overseas but felt an irresistible pull to help others in need, leaving for Sri Lanka in 2005 to volunteer with the tsunami relief effort.
It was after his return to the United Kingdom that Cocoa began to struggle with physical and mental health issues, losing his job and eventually becoming homeless. It was only when he approached a charity for help with food that he saw light at the end of the tunnel and after being asked to help as a volunteer driver he found a new passion and an idea for a new charity, Food for Nought.
Today Cocoa's Peterborough-based charity Food for Nought delivers surplus food from local farmers and supermarkets to food banks, hostels and community fridges. With a team of trustees and right hand man Neil Crowson, Food for Nought have helped tackle food poverty and have redirected over a thousand tonnes of food from landfill. All of this was achieved with a couple of second hand vans and without a premises.
And yet with the success it has not been easy. In May 2020 Cocoa was hospitalised with Covid-19 and pneumonia, but continued to steer Food for Nought, ensuring food has been supplied to those in need throughout the pandemic.
Today Cocoa needs your help. Despite there being plenty of surplus food for the team to redistribute, the charity is crippled by running costs. Maintaining and fuelling his ageing vehicles is a daily struggle with little funding available and without a premises they are unable to scale up and store more food for distribution.
Please make a donation to Cocoa's Christmas Appeal today and share his story. Your generosity could help him keep his vans running and perhaps even find a home for the charity. Help him to continue his fight against hunger.
Food for Nought is a registered charity number 1179699.