Camden Council has launched the Camden Challenge Prize, a recurring competition encouraging people to think of innovative ways of tackling our four Missions that are focused on food, young people, estates and neighbourhoods, and diversity.
This year, the first-ever Camden Challenge Prize aims to bring fresh perspectives to our Food Mission inviting individuals, startups, chefs, innovators, and organisations to submit their ideas.
Food waste is a significant concern in the borough, and Camden Challenge Prize 2025 aims to harness creativity to transform how food waste is prevented and managed within Camden’s Hospitality and Food Service (HaFS) sector. Successful applicants could receive an initial £5,000 to prototype and test their ideas, with the potential to secure a final award of £75,000 to further develop and scale their solution in Camden.
Councillor Richard Olszewski, Leader of Camden Council, said:
“We know that food waste is a real problem for Camden. Many families need the nutritious food which is being wasted, and throwing good food away is expensive and bad for the environment. Camden Challenge Prize 2025 is a fantastic opportunity for everyone in our community to share their brilliant ideas to make sure more of our food is used and enjoyed.”
Camden Challenge Prize 2025 is seeking ideas that address at least one of the following key challenges:
Reducing food surplus: Enable hospitality and food service businesses to reduce surplus by getting a grasp on how much surplus and waste is created, addressing overproduction or helping them respond more effectively to consumer trends
Influencing workplace cultures and practices: Shift hospitality and food service workplace culture and practices so that reducing food surplus and waste becomes a natural part of daily routines and decision-making.
Managing food waste: Reduce the amount of food waste from hospitality and food service businesses that ends up at landfill, either by supporting businesses to effectively manage their food waste or providing alternative opportunities for utilising food waste.
Ideas can be at any stage of development, from early concepts to fully operational models. The winning idea will play a vital role in helping Camden achieve its Food Mission: for everyone in the borough to eat well every day with nutritious, affordable, and sustainable food.
Applications are now open and will be accepted until 5pm on Tuesday 30 September 2025. While anyone in the UK can apply, ideas must be applicable to and tested within Camden.
For more information, including how to apply and full terms and conditions, please visit the website.
For any questions or support with the application form, please email camdenchallengeprize@camden.gov.uk.
