About Be Enriched
Be Enriched was formed in September 2013 by a group of youth workers, arts professionals and young people to provide others the opportunity to develop skills and improve community cohesion through training and volunteering opportunities.
Our Journey
Our flagship initiative, the Canteens Project, began as a short-term endeavour aimed at offering young offenders a constructive alternative to traditional community service. Within just a month, we engaged 40 regular participants and effectively utilized surplus food to address community needs. This early success revealed a profound and ongoing demand for both nourishment and companionship in our community.​
​​Today, Be Enriched has grown significantly. We operate three Community Canteens serving over 11,000 meals in 2024 alone, with the support of over 1000 dedicated volunteers. Additionally, we run the innovative Food Bus, delivering low-cost food to the communities of Lambeth and Wandsworth. Our efforts extend to combating holiday hunger through our Kids Clubs ensuring children have access to nutritious meals, fun and education even when schools are closed.
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November 2023 - British Nutrition Foundation’s Drummond Community Award winner, for Be Enriched's remarkable endeavours in addressing the issue of healthier eating among vulnerable groups
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April 2022 - Food Bus Highly Commended in the Innovation category of the Social Value Awards
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November 2022 - One of our volunteers (Bridget) received a Wandsworth Civic Award, in recognition of everything she does at our Community Canteen, and elsewhere in the borough
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March 2023 - Julie, our Community Canteen Leader, was Highly Commended at the Balham and Tooting Community Heroes Awards
Recognition
Previous Work
Kidsplay
Kidsplay Family Drama worked with families in the East of Glasgow with babies and children up to age 4 and their families. It particularly focussed on families with neuro-diverse children and provided a healthy food with each session.
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Graveney Village Network
A neighbourhood network of local people that live, study or volunteer in the Graveney (the former name for Tooting Broadway) areas of Wandsworth and Merton with the aim of connecting people build community.
Projects include: Annual Street Party, JAAM - Jam and preserve making workshops, Litter picking, community yoga, Grow your own food.
EU Youth Projects
We worked with young people of all and took part in many Erasmus youth projects on themes ranging from Clowning to Waste to Oppressed peoples.
Sharing Economy v Waste culture, Loondon​
European Act with Pride, Palermo,