Los Mochis, the restaurant which operates in both Notting Hill and Liverpool Street, this week celebrated donating almost 150,000 meals to The Felix Project, a charity which works to help feed the hungry.
The restaurant, which pairs Japanese and Mexican cuisine, announced that during the past year it has donated a total of 145,480 meals, bringing the total number of donation meals to 409,704 since 2021.
Each meal goes towards The Felix Project’s mission to end food poverty; the Project supplies food to 900 charities and schools in need,
Set up in 2016, the organisation makes use of the near three million tonnes of surplus edible food generated by the food industry each year, which it distributes around the country to help the 7.2 million individuals in the United Kingdom who struggle to afford to eat, which includes more than two million children at risk of missing their next meal.
The charity visited Los Mochis, which is owned by Markus Thesleff, last week for a brief ceremony and photoshoot to thank the restaurant for its growing contribution, which comes as part of Thesleff’s broader philanthropy; the restaurateur also supports WaterAid and CEO Sleepout, which helps the homeless.
Thesleff said of his involvement: “We at the Thesleff Group are committed to making a positive social impact and are honoured to continue our support for The Felix Project. Fighting food insecurity is more than a charity donation, it’s about nourishing hope and building a future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
“We believe that a community’s strength is measured by how it cares for one another, including the homeless and the less fortunate. Together, we can foster a spirit of compassion, hope and support to win the fight against food waste and hunger.”
Los Mochis is one of The Felix Project’s network of more than 550 partners, who include supermarkets, wholesalers, farms, restaurants and delis.
Marcus Roberts, senior relationships manager at The Felix Project said of the donation: “In 2023 The Felix Project gave out the equivalent of 32 million meals. This was a huge achievement and this year we want to do even more! But we couldn’t do it without incredible donations from places like Los Mochis, so we want to say a huge thank you to Markus and his team for their continued support.”
The charity’s work comes at a crucial time, during the cost of living crisis. While the worst of the cost of living crisis appears to be abating, the number of adults with food insecurity is still rising, and in 2023, it was revealed by Little Dish that more than four in ten parents say the rising cost of fresh ingredients prevents them from cooking healthy meals for their children, with 42 per cent of parents struggling to cook nutritional meals because of cost.
