John Carpenter Lodge

A warm meal can be life-changing. For people living with HIV in some of London’s most deprived neighbourhoods, it can also be the first step toward better health, social connection, and renewed confidence. Thanks to a £5,000 grant from London Freemasons, The Food Chain’s “Eating Together” service in Stepney will continue providing just that: nutritious food, friendship, and a route toward a healthier, more independent future.

The grant will help fund food purchases for the charity’s twice-weekly communal meal service, supporting around 200 people each year. For many, these meals offer far more than nourishment: they provide community, dignity, and a safe place to be fully themselves.

Founded in 1988 at the height of the AIDS crisis, The Food Chain remains the only HIV-specialist nutrition charity in the UK. Its mission is clear: ensuring that people living with HIV can access the nutrition they need to get well, stay well, and live independently. Many service users – often referred by NHS HIV clinics – face profound challenges including poverty, isolation, ill health, and stigma.

Today, The Food Chain provides a full spectrum of nutritional support: home-delivered meals, grocery packages, cookery classes, expert dietetic advice, and community dining sessions. Their registered HIV specialist dietitians design personalised plans, while more than 150 volunteers help deliver the charity’s services with compassion and dignity.

Research highlights just how crucial this work is. People living with HIV are disproportionately likely to face food poverty, unsafe housing, and malnutrition. The Food Chain’s model is widely recognised for its targeted, evidence-based approach, addressing both the physical and social causes of ill health.

Eating Together: More Than a Meal

The Stepney communal meals are among the charity’s most beloved programmes. Over three months, typically 24 meals, service users come together in a safe and supportive environment. They share food and meet others living with HIV, reducing feelings of isolation and stigma, and building confidence.

Menus are freshly prepared to a high standard, and surplus food is packed for people to take home. Visiting speakers offer talks on health, nutrition, and wellbeing. Importantly, former service users often return as volunteers, using their lived experience to help others.

As CEO Anna Brewster explains, these sessions can be transformative: “As a small charity with no statutory funding, grants such as these make a huge difference to our ability to deliver our vital services to those who need them most”, she says. “On behalf of staff, trustees, volunteers and Service Users at The Food Chain I’d like to extend my sincere thanks for this generous donation.”

The Food Chain’s work is powered by its volunteers; a legacy that traces back to the charity’s founding in 1988 by a small group of volunteers who prepared meals in their own kitchens for people living with HIV. Today, more than 200 trained volunteers help deliver meals, run cooking classes, and support group sessions. They work with some of London’s most marginalised communities: people who may lack stable housing, have limited income, or struggle with complex health issues. Many are refugees or asylum seekers; others are older individuals who lived through the early HIV epidemic and continue to carry trauma and stigma. For them, Eating Together is a lifeline as much as it is a service.

London Freemasons recognise the importance of providing this safe, nourishing space. Paul King, speaking on behalf of London Freemasons, says: “We are proud to be able to support The Food Chain and their Eating Together service, understanding that it is bringing together those most vulnerable members of our community.”

The support from London Freemasons will directly fund more than just food; it will sustain a service that helps people rebuild lives and communities, one meal at a time. With London Freemasons’ support, The Food Chain can continue offering warmth, connection, and a pathway to better health, ensuring that no one living with HIV in London is left hungry or alone.

This article is part of Arena Magazine Issue 59 – Christmas 2025.
Arena Magazine is the official online magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in Arena Issue 59 here.

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