Who are we?

Good question!

We're Compliments of The House, a community-led Brixton-based food redistribution charity working to cut food waste in Britain.

We're not a food bank and were not a soup kitchen. We don't rely on public food donations, that often require taking food away to be cooked, and we don't cook meals on our premises.

What we do is:

We collect cooked food that is surplus food from local restaurants, cafes, and supermarkets, and divert this from unnecessarily going to waste in landfill to feeding those in need. By offering choice in what we provide for our guests we dignify those going hungry.

But we need a hub to do this.

We've worked hard over the years to provide those going hungry with fresh and nutritious food, but we have never had a permanent home to do this from. With impending homelessness on the cards once again we want to put a stop to the irony of supporting those struggling, without having a home ourselves.

We need to support our guests with a consistent and reliable service in a hub that we can all call home. Brixton is where we have always been, it is where our trusted food donors are and where our guests know to find us. Being within walking distance of the food we collect for our guests also helps us to fulfil our charity's sustainable vision. As a small grassroots charity having a permanent home in Brixton has been a long-term dream of ours, and we now need your help to make this a reality.

Our #SpringIntoAction campaign is encouraging all of our supporters to get involved this spring, to raise their voices and join us in fundraising for a new hub for our guests.

As a team we will be participating in the 5k May Challenge, running, walking, cycling or swimming 5k every day to raise money for CoTH. We would love for you to donate to keep our tired legs going, or even join in(!) and try beating us to the finish line. Whatever you can do or give will make a huge difference to the wellbeing of our guests and the future of CoTH.

Our participating team members:

Sinead, CEO and Founder

Simon, Volunteer Coordinator

Tom, Senior Administrative Officer

Alison, Administrative and Research Officer

Lexy, Administrative and Social Media Officer

Hetty, Project Development Officer

If you wish to donate to one of our team members specifically, maybe you've been following their journey on our socials, then please donate to their individual fundraising pages, attached to this campaign. The highest donor may win their name run out by their favorite team player in the last week of May! Otherwise, please feel free to support the whole gang by donating here.

We're also promoting take-overs with sponsors on our socials, and opening up discussions to share advice on how we can all do more to support our communities, so keep an eye on our socials for the #SpringIntoAction campaign. We'll see you there!

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A little bit more about us and our journey this last year.

When COVID-19 struck, we had to take tough but necessary measures to minimize the risk of infection to our guests - many of whom have weakened and compromised immune systems - and temporarily closed our current food redistribution hub in Brixton. It was a difficult decision, but we felt it was the best option for our guests in the long run to limit their exposure to the virus.

Not wanting to abandon our guests altogether though, and more determined than ever to support the increasing number of residents in our community going hungry, we transformed our operations into a frontline free food delivery service. Our amazing team of local volunteers sorted, packed and delivered parcels full of nutritious and fresh food every 2 weeks to over 200 families and individuals doors. We tailored parcels to individuals needs and wants, and ensured health and cultural differences were accounted for. This is how we continued in our vision to dignify those going hungry through the often unpredictable events of the pandemic.

Now that COVID-19 lockdown restrictions are easing were desperate to invite our guests back to the hub, while providing a supplementary delivery service for those still shielding.

We need your help to do this.

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Why should you donate?

COVID-19 has highlighted and exacerbated the ongoing issues of hidden hunger and food poverty in the UK. With the early disruptions of community services and added increase of mass panic buying - not only of staple foods but of basic sanitary products - this pandemic left many of our guests with absolutely nothing. The choice between buying a weekly shop and paying household bills was a decision they had to make too often.

And it wasn't just our existing guests that struggled. CoTH has never seen such a variety of people seeking support, from young creatives to families facing unpredicted redundancy, its clear that more people are living paycheck to paycheck than ever before. Our CEO, having been homeless herself, understands too that not everyone has family to turn to in these difficult times. That is why CoTH's support is so vital.

Continuing unemployment and social isolation will ensure the most vulnerable in our communities will feel the effect of this pandemic far into the future. We now must face these issues. It is up to us to stand up for our communities and #SpringIntoAction if we are to combat hidden hunger and food poverty on a national scale.

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How will your donation help?

Our delivery service during COVID-19 was a roaring success because of the amazing generous donors who supported our cause. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to provide food and vital wellbeing support to over 200 families and individuals throughout the pandemic. Knowing all too well that communities do well when looking out for each other, were turning back to the CoTH supporters for help. We want to get our guests back into the hub and back on track, by providing face-to-face support through a reliable service.

Community resilience is about creating safe, inclusive and accessible spaces for everyone, and without a hub we will not be able to do this. The instability we've faced by moving hubs since our inception in 2018 interrupts our guests journey to wellbeing. Our Back-to-Work scheme which helps guests find independence in employment has been disrupted too often, leaving guests more vulnerable than ever. We want to do our best to support hand ups and not handouts by being present for our guests' needs long into the future. To do this our ability to provide a consistent and reliable service for them is now vital.

Were springing to action for our guests. But we cant do it alone. We need you!

Please support our amazing team in their fundraising efforts by either donating or joining in with our 5k May Challenge, and keep an eye out on our socials for more ways to get involved this spring. Thank you!

(Remember to link your fundraiser to this appeal and tag us in any photos via social media. We cant wait to see you!)