The Feed, a social enterprise working to prevent poverty, hunger and homelessness in Norwich, won the Small Business of the Year award, sponsored by UPP, at the Norfolk Business Awards 2022.
Established in 2014, The Feed grew out of an organisation called Leap, which was launched in 2008 after Norwich City Council secured government funding to look at innovative ways of reducing homelessness.
Leap combined employment, education and training with accommodation opportunities – and went on to be awarded Reaching Communities Big Lottery Funding for three years, enabling it to expand its team and become part of St Martin’s Housing Trust.
It registered The Feed as a community interest company in February 2014 – with the aim of selling food to generate revenue.
“We are passionate about food and passionate about people, so we run cafés and a catering enterprise which produce delicious homemade food to generate much of our income,” said Lucy Parish, CEO of The Feed.
“They are also places where we help people who have faced, or are facing, barriers to employment such as homelessness, substance misuse, a history of offending and learning difficulties.”
Lucy joined The Feed in 2018 and was appointed as CEO in July 2019.
“Having worked in corporate organisations for all of my career, I decided that I wanted my hard work to actually make a difference to people’s lives,” she said. “I joined The Feed as I saw potential in developing it into something fantastic and impactful.”
The Feed began selling to the public from a stall in Norwich Market, which was set up following a successful crowdfunding campaign with significant support from Kettle Foods, local businesses and individuals.
In November 2018, the company opened its first café on Prince of Wales Road. The premises also has a full kitchen to support its work experience programmes, as well as office space and storage.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, The Feed has since opened four additional cafes – and in July 2022, it opened a Social Supermarket on Hall Road to provide food for people struggling to afford it.
After five months, the supermarket is already helping over 1,700 households and providing critical support during the cost-of-living crisis.
“It provides free fresh fruit and vegetables, bread and hygiene products,” Lucy explained. “All the other basics are sold at prices much lower than other supermarkets.”
In its last financial year, The Feed provided more than 1,300 hours of work experience, giving people “improved confidence, new skills and clarity on their next steps towards employment”.
It also delivered 108 hours of group sessions for women to improve their wellbeing, reduce isolation and increase motivation – as well as nearly 1,500 hours of voluntary work; 3,255 hot meals to rough sleepers and other vulnerable groups; and 19,155kg of food to people struggling to afford it.
The Feed currently employs 43 people and numerous volunteers. Lucy said the team were “delighted, surprised and proud” to be named Small Business of the Year.
“The award means that the judges feel we are running a successful organisation,” she said. “They have seen how we are using the power of the delicious food we sell in our cafés and catering business to support our community.
“We have taken the trophy to all five of our Norwich cafés and our Social Supermarket,” she added. “Our staff have had their photos taken with it, and we dropped off some treats for them too, to recognise that every single one of them have played their part.”
For more information, visit www.thefeed.org.uk
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