August 2026 Newsletter

Hello ! Welcome to your monthly update from The Food Chain

Feature: Looking to the future
What's been happening
What's coming up
Ways to support us

Looking to the future

August has brought with it some time to pause, reflect and contemplate. June and July were months of endings at The Food Chain - we saw the closure of Eating Together and said goodbye to colleagues, friends. Now that the hardest parts of this transition are behind us, as we process the changes and the sadness that has come with them, it's time to take a deep breath, re-plant our feet, and look forward.

Through all of this recent uncertainty, we have been able to continue to provide vital food and nutrition support to the most vulnerable people living with HIV in London. In the last 2 months we've sent out 224 deliveries to individuals and families experiencing acute hardship. This support is a lifeline for those whose daily experience is one of difficulty, isolation and hunger.

"You have been there when I needed help, didn't judge me or anything."

Thanks to recent government funding, our formula milk service is secured in partnership with Chiva, meaning no new parent has to struggle to feed their baby. Right now we are supporting 90 babies across England with formula milk - and that number continues to grow!

"If it wasn't for your organisation, I don't know how I would have been able to care for my baby."

Conversations with Terrence Higgins Trust about becoming a subsidiary are progressing nicely, and we are so grateful that they have helped us to secure our future. This is not only amazing for the people we support, but also for all of us - it means new possibilities in our future. Considering the significant challenges of the last couple of months, there is now an air of hope and opportunity at The Food Chain.

Everyone in our community - staff, trustees, partners, supporters, friends, Service Users and volunteers - have been nothing but supportive, understanding and motivated throughout this whole process. It's thanks to all of you that The Food Chain will live on to fight another day!

Help us to keep on fighting

What's been happening

Trans+ Pride Parade

Saturday 25th July

The Food Chain were proud to march alongside our colleagues from THT, Spectra, Positive East and National AIDS Trust, standing shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with all trans+ friends and allies. This year broke records: an estimated 150,000 people marched to protest for and defend trans rights at a time when they are still under threat. Thank you to everyone who came along - what an amazing day it was!

Volunteers Party

Thursday 30th July

We had an absolute blast celebrating our volunteers on 30th July. Usually held in September, we brought forward our Volunteers Party this year so that we could properly mark the end of our Eating Together volunteering opportunities. It was an evening full of emotions, lots of tears and lots of hugs. It was a perfect display of the kind of community we have built together, and how ardently we practice what we preach.

Thank you to everyone who came on the night, and to our wonderful friend Topsie Redfern for keeping us all entertained!

The Food Chain's proudest legacy has always been and always will be our volunteers. And we know that this isn’t a goodbye, this is a "seeya soon!" We fully intend to get back to that kitchen one day soon, doing what we all do so well together, as a family, with compassion, care, kindness and love.

What's coming up

World AIDS Day RED RUN

Saturday 21st November

We'll be back gracing Victoria Park with our presence, come rain or shine (hoping for the latter) on Saturday 21st November. We're so excited for this year's World AIDS Day RED RUN, organised by our pals at Positive East. It's the UK’s largest World AIDS Day fundraiser, raising funds for 30 different HIV charities across the UK.

You can sign up to fundraise for The Food Chain as you walk, run or mooch the 5 or 10k around Victoria Park, all to the cheers of our amazing community. As you know, we rely on community fundraising as a substantial income stream, so whether you can raise £100 or £1000, it all helps!

Email fundraising@foodchain.org.uk to find out more, or you can simply sign up on the RED RUN website www.redrun.org.uk

Carol Service

Tuesday 15th December

Mark your diaries!

The date for 2026's Carol Service has been set as Tuesday 15th December. It's still too early to be talking about Christmas, so for now just make sure you've noted the date and more information will come along soon.

Already looking forward to it!

Ways to support our work

Become a monthly donor

Individual giving is a lifeline to The Food Chain. As little as £5 a month would make a huge difference in ensuring we can continue to provide our vital support - for every pound donated we spend 89p on charitable services. Setting up a payment is simple: just visit our donation page and select the “I’d like to give regularly” option to get started.

Support us through your workplace

Corporate support is becoming more and more vital to The Food Chain's sustainability. Many workplaces have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budget, employee volunteering incentives, charity or LGBTQ+ societies or "charity of the year" schemes. Why not have a chat with your employers and find out if they'd like to explore working with The Food Chain? We'd love to meet new partners to help sustain the work we do.

Play the Rainbow Lottery!

We've signed up to become a member of the Rainbow Lottery, where for £1 a week players can be in with a chance of winning up to £25,000! 60p from every ticket supports LGBTQ+ causes and you can choose The Food Chain as yours. Read more about the lottery here and buy your tickets here!

Give while you shop

Give as you Live Online is a free and easy way to raise money for your favourite charity, just by shopping online. Simply sign up for free at Give as you Live and choose The Food Chain as your chosen charity

Over 4,000 shops and sites will donate to The Food Chain for FREE when you use easyfundraising to shop with them, so you can support us no matter what you're buying.

“I was very sad to hear the news about Eating Together coming to an end. I want to thank you and everyone at The Food Chain for all the support, kindness and care I have received as a Service User. The meals and gatherings have meant so much to me and have helped me through difficult times. I recently had the opportunity to volunteer, and it was a privilege to be able to give something back, even in a small way. It helped me appreciate even more the hard work that goes into making Eating Together such a special place. I will really miss the gatherings and the wonderful sense of community that The Food Chain has created. Thank you for everything you have done for me and for so many others.”

With best wishes,

Allan Anderson

Chair of Trustees

If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve future newsletters, please send your thoughts to fundraising@foodchain.org.uk and we'll be in touch.

The Food Chain (UK) Ltd | Registered Charity 1003014 | 020 7843 1800

www.foodchain.org.uk

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