On Wednesday 17th September, a unique ‘supersized’ charity cooking challenge saw 100 participants from London businesses come together at Borough Market to prepare and distribute over 500 fresh meals to homeless and vulnerable people across the capital.
The not-for-profit event, Feed the 500, was organised by Team Tactics in support of Plan Zheroes, a London charity tackling food waste and poverty by redistributing surplus food from businesses to community organisations.
Under the guidance of chefs Shannon McAuliffe and Ruby Hazel from Emerge Cookery School, participants worked together to pull off the 500-meal feat in just three hours.
Equippd Ltd, TIAA, Portfolio, Atomico, Cloudinary, Target Lifts and IGXGlobal UK Limited were among the businesses that rolled up their sleeves and put their culinary skills to the test in support of the event.
The day saw 1,055 spring rolls fried, 20kg of Portobello mushrooms transformed into 12.5kg of pâté, 31kg of oyster mushrooms cooked, 18kg of rice noodles used and more than £1,300 raised.
The 500 meals were distributed to eight frontline charities, including St Mungo’s, Draper Together, Blackfriars Settlement, Oasis Waterloo, The People’s Army, The Neurodiversity Family Hub, Vauxhall Garden Community Centre, and Lucy Brown House.
In addition to the 500 meals prepared for those in need, participants cooked an extra 125 meals to enjoy together with organisers in celebration of their efforts, while the charities took to the stage to share their missions.
The event comes as 6.6% of households in the capital face food insecurity, and the equivalent of 1 in every 50 Londoners are homeless or living in temporary accommodation.
Commenting on the event, founder and managing director at Team Tactics, Tina Benson, said: “Feed the 500 is one of my career highlights in nearly 30 years of running the business. Seeing the London business community rally with such enthusiasm has been inspiring, and it proves that, when organisations come together with purpose, we can create a real impact.
“The energy, enthusiasm, laughter and music was spilling out of Borough Market, and it was great to see teams strengthen bonds while getting behind such an important cause and getting healthy, fresh food to those who need it most.”
Matt Griffin, marketing and events manager at Borough Market, commented: “We were so pleased to host and support Feed the 500. As a charity with community at its core, it’s important that everything we do serves not only our visitors and traders, but locals and wider communities too.
“We’ve worked with Plan Zheroes for over 10 years, providing surplus food from over 50 traders at the end of each day. It’s a charity that so many of us across the market are proud to be a part of and it was fantastic to see such unity and support for the cause at such a challenging time.”
Following the success of this year’s initiative, plans are already underway to expand Feed the 500 in 2026, offering even more opportunities for businesses to participate, sponsor, and support the fight against hunger and food waste in London.
