FEAST
1635. Hannah Style
Hannah Style, from London, is an NHS dietitian who runs ‘FEAST’, a community cooking initiative which provided over 25,000 meals to homeless and vulnerable people across London in 2020.
Hannah first set up the initiative in the Jewish community in 2015 to counter the increasing levels of food poverty, malnutrition and food waste in her local area of Kilburn in North London. Each ‘FEAST’ (which stands for ‘Feeding and Empowering All Sustainably Together’) is a nutritious meal made from surplus food collected from food retailers in homeless shelters where volunteers and residents cook and eat together. While the Coronavirus pandemic has prevented community gathering and dining, Hannah has ensured the initiative has been able to respond to a huge increase in demand, operating throughout lockdown to deliver an essential nutrition service for vulnerable people, and saving over 11,000 kilograms of food waste in process. Supported by a team of hundreds of dedicated volunteers and 8 new staff since the beginning of the pandemic, operating across multiple boroughs of London, ‘FEAST’ continues to grow, aiming to cook and deliver over 80,000 meals in 2021 to those in need, as well as provide practical workshops and skills-based sessions to promote independence with nutrition. The initiative is also currently running a fundraising campaign to tackle food poverty among young people through nutrition education.
In a personal letter to Hannah, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“Congratulations on the fantastic work of ‘FEAST’. With your army of volunteers, you have cooked up tens of thousands of hot, healthy meals for those in need.
“‘FEAST’ epitomises the uplifting spirit of community we have seen so much of over the last year.”
Hannah said:
“I am truly honoured, humbled, and surprised to receive this award. Thank you. I want to recognise and thank the ‘FEAST’ team for their remarkable dedication and compassion throughout this enormously challenging time. They have helped so many ‘FEAST’ participants, and their efforts are unparalleled. Hoping for a better world in future without food poverty, and the need for ‘FEAST’.”