TV STAR DR RANJ PRESCRIBES MAJOR AWARD FOR FOOD CHAMPIONS
19th October 2020
This Morning resident doctor and former Strictly Come Dancing star Dr Ranj Singh has named inspirational husband and wife duo ‘Lockdown Legends’ in coveted National Lottery Awards, for their work providing surplus food to those in need.
Dom and Alexandria Warren set up the charity Dom’s Food Mission five years ago, to tackle food poverty and reduce food waste, after seeing children at the school drop off who looked like they were struggling and may not have had breakfast that morning.
Wanting to do their bit to feed those less fortunate, the couple started a Facebook group, asking people to donate food and arranging drop-off days so they could boost the stocks at the local food bank in Hastings. The very first week they collected enough to feed 160 people.
Since 2015, Dom’s Food Mission has grown to the point of delivering 8,000 food parcels a week during lockdown and prevents 35,000 tonnes of food going to landfill every month. Now they have been named winners of the Health Category at the 2020 National Lottery Awards, which saw 5000 nominations cast from all over the UK. Dom received the trophy today from Dr Ranj, an NHS paediatric consultant who has written books for adults and children focussing on food nutrition and cheap and healthy recipes and recently put media career on hold to fight coronavirus on the frontline.
“We are thrilled to have won the Environment category in the 2020 National Lottery Awards. We’re a real force of an organisation that feeds thousands each month and stops hundreds of tonnes of food going in the bin. It’s never a handout, it’s a hand-up and without this, people, families and children just don’t get enough food. I sleep better at night knowing people have had their right to eat. The fact that Alexandria and I were able to take the Mission full time with National Lottery players support and help so many people makes me feel really proud.”
Dom Warren
“It was a real honour to meet Dom and present him with a National Lottery Award for the absolute life line his charity have provided to so many people throughout lockdown and over the last five years. Dom and Alexandria are an inspiration to us all!”
Dr Ranj
Almost 5,000 extraordinary individuals were nominated for a 2020 National Lottery Award – the annual search for the UK’s favourite National Lottery funded people and projects.
They celebrate the inspirational individuals who do extraordinary things with the help of National Lottery funding.
In October 2019, Dom’s Food Mission received £200,000 of National Lottery, allowing Dom to quit his job and work full time for the charity. His project will now receive a £3,000 cash prize in recognition of his work.
National Lottery players raise around £30 million to good causes every week. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, The National Lottery has distributed support packages of up to £600 million across arts, sports, heritage, education and the environment.
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Dom's Food Mission