A local charity has thanked the help of a nearby business for providing its bus with a permanent location after it was recently vandalised.

Be Enriched, a local charity founded in 2013 that tries to help the local community through food, had its London Food Bus vandalised earlier this year, putting it out of work for a short period of time.

Thanks to help from the local community it was able to get up and running again, but it needed a new permanent location to ensure something like this wouldn't happen again.

Recently it was announced that Hadley Property Group would be providing a space for the bus at CYCLE42 in Merton for completely free.

The property group, as well as its long-standing partners Clarion Housing group, have now gone a step further, bringing staff down to volunteer at the Graveney Community Canteen and taking over the kitchen. They organised all of the prep and cooked a three-course meal for those using the service.

Kemi Akinola, Be Enriched's CEO and Founder, said: "It's taken a lot to bring the London Food Bus from an initial idea to being out on the streets and we were all so devastated when it was covered in graffiti.

"To have the bus behind a fence, covered by CCTV, put our minds at ease, especially as other options could have taken away funds from the delivery of our different projects. To then have Hadley and Clarion's teams come down and show more support for our work by filling our kitchen with volunteers is just amazing.

"We are very grateful to them for all their support to help those less fortunate in the community."

Matt Griffiths-Rimmer, Hadley's Director of Communications and Partnerships, said: "It's a privilege to be working with Be Enriched, who are working so tirelessly against food poverty across so much of south London. Kemi and the team bring such positive energy to the work that they do that you can't help but be inspired to get involved.

"We are very happy to provide a space to help shelter the bus until the team can find it a new, more permanent home. Here's hoping that these are the first steps in a longstanding partnership that makes some tangible difference to the communities we work in."

The London Food Bus is open to anyone who can make use of its services and it will soon operate as follows:

Tuesdays

St Joseph's Church, 11am - 1pm

Danebury Avenue Green, 2pm - 4pm

Wednesdays

Henry Fawcett School, 11am - 1pm

Allen Edwards school, 2pm - 4pm

Thursdays

All Saints Church 10:30am - 1pm

Rames Close, 2pm - 4pm

The Community Canteens are open on the following days:

Castle Canteen

Mondays, 1pm - 2:30pm

Graveney Canteen

Fridays, 1pm - 2:30pm

Volunteers, either as corporate groups or individuals, are needed before, during and after each Canteen session and all are welcome. For more information on how to get involved, including sponsor The London Food Bus or other Be Enriched projects, go to its website.

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