Today, The Lord Mayor, and Tower Ward Alderman Nicholas Lyons, together with Sheriff Andrew Marsden launched the first Livery Food Initiative Van with charity partner City Harvest. The Livery Kitchen Initiative was launched during the pandemic, and livery companies opened their hall kitchens or made donations to help feed the desperately stretched NHS staff in several of London's communities. The Livery Food Initiative is aimed at fighting food poverty in the City of London.
Since December 2022, the Livery Food Initiative has raised more than £155,000 to support the City Harvest van, which will deliver food to people in need. This comes at a critical time as the communities across the UK, and in London, are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and as inflation makes it more difficult for charities to meet the increasing demand for their services. City Harvest rescues food that is going to waste and redistributes it to more than 350 charities across the country. The Livery Food Initiative will enable the City Harvest van to distribute food to those in need, in and around the City, for at least three years.
I’m delighted to report on this development, as I was markets chairman when we started working with City Harvest at Spitalfields market, and I was glad to support their efforts during the lockdown.
