Accessibility, sustainability and giving back to the global community have been the heart of Mindful Chef since we kicked off our journey in 2015. From the early days delivering boxes ourselves across London, up to the thousands our small team now delivers nationwide. The mission has stayed the same; making healthy eating easy while being mindful of the bigger social and environmental picture.
Our partnership with inspirational charity One Feeds Two showcases that. It works on the basis that for every Mindful meal you enjoy, we donate a school meal to a child living in poverty.
We’re delighted that so far we’ve clocked up 1.5 million meals in donations. That means your orders have helped put 7,500 children through school for a year! Amazing work guys, none of that would be at all possible without you. With your support, we can make a real difference and use our business as a force for good.
Earlier this year our Founders Myles and Giles travelled to Malawi with One Feeds Two to go and see the life-changing impact your meal donations are making.
Day 1
We land in Malawi after an epic 24-hour trip at sunset. The atmosphere’s so alive and buzzing. Groups of friends and family chat roadside. Children are playing football with wide smiles on their faces and their joy is utterly infectious. We have arrived.
Day 2
We’re up and out for a 5am visit to ‘Namitsitsi’; a rural school for kids aged 5-15. The vision is amazing,“ to ensure quality education for all and total interaction between the community.” We meet the local volunteers and help them feed the kids breakfast. One of the teachers, Eric, tells us that for up to 60% of the children this porridge is their only meal of the day.
The school is in a rural setting, so some of the kids walk up to an hour to get here every day. We meet Manuel a switched on 10-year-old who has ambitions to be a soldier. Then we meet Lexa; an articulate 14-year-old
who wants to be a teacher. The female village “Chief” explains how the school aims to operate as a collective with the community.
There’s no chairs, pens, or books. The kids learn by listening to the teachers and reciting them back. It’s really humbling to see.
Day 3
Today we turn our focus to the younger children aged 2-6 with a visit to the Ndirande Parish Nursery Center. Here we help out cooking again with the community volunteers. The kids are such a delight; so happy and welcoming. Not only do they dazzle us with their smiles, they also introduce themselves in English, recite the English days of the week, months of the year and count to ten. At the end of the day, we hand out ten brand new footballs as our leaving gift. They’re delighted.
For more behind the scenes footage and to view our Malawi video, follow us on social @mindfulchefuk.