STV: Meet the Edinburgh man using hunger to end hunger
http://edinburgh.stv.tv/articles/295884-world-food-day-marked-by-edinburgh-foundation-one-feeds-two/
Nelson Mandela once said that education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.
James Peter Campbell, known as JP, shares these sentiments and believes food has the power to help make this possible.
He imagines a world where every meal bought results in a child in poverty receiving one too, a meal which could unlock opportunities for them to receive an education.
It is a dream he holds dear to his heart and is at the core of the One Feeds Two Foundation.
The idea started to sprout in 2011 after JP quit his job as a corporate lawyer to work on the buy one, give one model.
“I decided to go off and set up my own business and do something a bit different,” the 30 year old said.
“I wanted to make the business world better and promote social causes. I thought it made sense to do this in the food world.”
Determined in his goal, JP converted a vintage Citroën H-Van and set up the Elephant Juice Food Company, selling gourmet soup in Edinburgh.
For each soup sold, a meal was paid for and distributed through feeding programmes to children in some of the poorest countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and South America.
In 18 months, over 37,500 free school meals were dished up, but it was a trip to Kenya to see the idea in practice that made him dare to dream on a global level.
In October 2013, JP sold the Elephant Juice Food Company and set up One Feeds Two.
He applied to the Virgin Unite Screw Business As Usual competition and through this he met Mark Christophers, co-founder of the West Cornwall Pasty Co, and entrepreneur Owen Burton.
The trustees for the non-profit foundation One Feeds Two were formed and the concept which had been bubbling away in JP’s van on the streets of Edinburgh began to take shape.
It has even been endorsed by Sir Richard Branson.
Using business to better the world
“When I saw the feeding programmes in operations in Kenya, I was encouraged to give up ownership of the idea and put it into a foundation so that all businesses can do it,” JP said.
“It made more sense to scale it that way rather than to own it as our [unique selling point].
“We have spent the last ten months setting up the foundation and getting it ready so that businesses can take on the concept.
“We want One Feeds Two to be viewed in a similar way to businesses who do Fairtrade.
“We see ourselves as a new ethical standard that businesses can support.
“Customers resonate with the idea of feeding somebody every time they feed themselves.”
How it works
When someone buys a product or a meal with a One Feeds Two logo on it, a child living in poverty gets a school meal too.
London company Rola Wala was the first to introduce One Feeds Two labelled products and high street retailer Cook and Edinburgh caterer Foodies are also about to embark on the project, an exciting development for the foundation to announce on World Food Day.
Cook will have One Feeds Two logos on their Christmas range in over 70 stores from November and Foodies will provide a meal to the foundation every time they do a corporate catering meal.
“We are hoping to provide 400,000 meals by the New Year,” JP said.
“We are now looking for more businesses to take it on and are really knocking on the doors.
“We think our model can provide millions of meals a day if we get the right brands and enough businesses engaged with it.
“The ultimate aim of the programmes we work with is to build a school feeding programme that can eventually be supported and run by the governments in the respective countries they operate.
“It’s all about education and empowerment rather than aid and dependency.
“If we get businesses to adopt this model then consumers can make a difference while going about their everyday activity of just eating.
“That really is what’s driving One Feeds Two, to make general giving a much more integral part of our day to day activity.”
