Culinary community champions from the Nourish Hub joined royalty for afternoon tea at a prestigious Buckingham Palace garden party.
The celebratory event was hosted by the King and Queen and brought together organisations making exceptional contributions to their communities.
"It was a truly unique experience. We saw the royal family, enjoyed coronation chickpea sandwiches, cake... and the afternoon tea was as delicious as expected," said Andreea Rizea, Deputy Hub Manager.
The community food hub – located around the corner from Westfield shopping centre in Shepherds Bush – represented the second Hammersmith & Fulham organisation to receive this royal honour in May.
"We're incredibly grateful for the opportunity to showcase the vital work of charities like ours on such a meaningful occasion," said Helen Fielding, Education and Events Coordinator.
Food is more than just fuel – it's joy, culture, and connection, everything the Nourish Hub embodies.
Queen Camilla serves as patron of UKHarvest – the hub's parent organisation.
This latest royal invitation follows Jack Tizard school in White City, whose headteacher represented H&F's education excellence at a garden party last week.
Fighting food poverty together
H&F Council financially supports the Nourish Hub as a key part of our work to end food poverty and ensure no child in the borough goes hungry.
In addition, we've gifted Alexandra Rose vouchers to more than 2,200 children over the last eight years. The vouchers provide families with access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
The royal recognition coincides with Nourish Hub celebrating its third year of supporting residents in H&F. Since opening, the volunteer-run team has:
- welcomed more than 115,820 visitors
- rescued more than 130 tonnes of food that would otherwise have gone to waste, and
- delivered 570 education and community events to approximately 10,500 people.
"Before I came here I was struggling with mental health problems and unemployment," explained one regular volunteer, describing the food kitchen as "a safe environment for me to develop social skills and also do what I love doing, which is cooking."
Another local shared: "The Nourish Hub gets me up and gets me out the flat. I'm able to socialise with a lot of people. And the food is pretty damn good!"
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