Help the Hungry: Our appeal has surpassed its £10m target to feed the nation’s poorest

We felt the pain of the pandemic almost as acutely as many others – so we resolved to do what we could

Today our Help the Hungry appeal surpassed its target of raising £10m to feed some of our nation’s poorest. 

Nine months ago, when the UK first entered a historic lockdown to tackle a novel threat, we set ourselves a challenge. The situation was grave: the economy was flatlining, community organisations saw their funding slashed and many could not leave their homes or access basic essentials.

We felt the pain of the pandemic almost as acutely as many others – so we resolved to do what we could to help those who needed it at this difficult time; and give people the tools to help each other.

We have worked with The Felix Project, the country’s largest food redistribution charity, to supply hospitals, schools, and frontline charities like With Compassion with food.

Through the generosity of readers, we were able to turbocharge the operations of The Felix Project: in February it distributed 20,000 meals per day; now it does 100,000 per day.

Our journalists have shone a light on the people and organisations doing their bit to aid their local communities. We have also told the stories of those who have suffered the most from Covid-19.

As I wrote in March, The Independent is one of the world’s foremost campaigning publications. We don’t only report on the facts; we try to make a difference. In the spirit of that, this victory is also the first step towards opening a social kitchen in London, as a lasting commitment to tackling hunger.

But for now, this letter is for all those who worked on the campaign, for all the volunteers who gave their time to help others and for all the supporters who donated their resources. 

There is only one thing left to say: Thank you.