Kitchio: a sustainable solution to food insecurity

Aim

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The UK has some big food problems. 

By prioritising profit over people, we've created a food system where healthy food is a luxury for those who can afford it - and even throw it away - while those who can't are surrounded by fast food and low-quality ingredients. This creates a cycle of long-standing health inequalities, with some shocking knock-on effects.

Did you know that families who have to rely on ready meals and takeaways add an average of £2,100 to their yearly food bill?

And that cases of child malnutrition have doubled in the last six months?

Or that 1 in 4 children in disadvantaged urban areas is obese?

With increased food insecurity due to COVID-19 and emergency food responses running out of resources, it's time for a sustainable solution.

Kitchio is improving access to healthy food through meal boxes with social impact. 

We've found that the biggest motivating factor in many food decisions is time. When you're on a budget, you have to think on your feet and are left little time or mental space to plan ahead. Often, the easiest thing to do is to reach for a takeaway or ready meal, but this can be costly in terms of money and health.

We're developing meal boxes that provide quick, healthy meals to families on a budget, through recipes and ingredients delivered straight to their door. Recipes are easy to follow and include child-friendly steps, so that all the family can get involved.

Each box also contains personalised tips on how to shop responsibly, plan meals and reduce food waste, so that families can decrease their food bill in the long term. 

Where other food offerings are quick & cheap - like fast food or microwave meals - or quick & healthy - like more expensive meal boxes - at under £2 per portion for 20-minute meals, Kitchio's unique selling point is that it combines all three.

Our recipes are tasty, fast and child friendly.

An estimated 1 million families on low incomes are spending too much on food. Here's some feedback from testers during our prototyping around Coventry.

"Fantastic food box full of quick and easy meals for me and the family! Great for meal planning on a budget and to make around hectic schedules, brilliant little tasks to make you think about your food wastage too, with child friendly steps in the recipes to get the whole family involved! A+++++ meal box!" - Emma, care home manager and single mother to Alfie, pictured above.

"The ease of the recipes is wonderful. You get to make a quick meal but be happy that you’re feeding the family a healthy balanced meal." - Anonymous

"We love the simplicity of this meal box. Fresh food that can be prepared and cooked quickly to be enjoyed by the whole family. Would highly recommend." - Anonymous

"Delicious!" - Aimee's daughter, pictured above and below.

We've delivered 192 meals so far. Your support will help us serve thousands more.

We've had interest from multiple housing associations who want Kitchio to support their residents from falling behind on rent, as food expenses are the highest cost after rent during the first year of tenancy. 

We'd like to be able to serve them by establishing a distribution hub for a 3-month pilot with 50 families in London by the end of 2020. That's 7,200 meals. This will enable us to provide a sustainable solution to COVID food shortages and offer our services to local authorities in the area. 

£20 can subsidise a 5-meal family box.

£50 can subsidise 12 family meals.

£100 lets us develop a whole new recipe.

£200 pays for a day packing boxes.

You can join the movement calling attention to food inequalities that have existed for too long.

With your help, we can begin our journey towards our ambitious impact goals:

• Break the intergenerational cycle of childhood obesity
• Help low-income families become financially secure
• Significantly reduce household food waste

If you're interested in joining the mission, please contact [email protected].

Sabrina recently finished Year Here, a postgraduate course in Social Innovation, having previously graduated from Yale University with a degree in Mathematics. She has experience in marketing and logistics, has founded a pop-up cafe and taken courses in food science and food enterprise. She spent the last year gaining experience in various London councils, where she started a cash-transfer programme for a public health campaign and project-managed a team of Year Here fellows to deliver a COVID-19 response strategy.

Thank you so much for your generous support.

NB: A 4.75% levy will be applied to donations, to help cover TFN/Year Here's costs of supporting venture fundraising and administering the funding.

This project successfully funded on 11th September 2020