A Lewisham-based cleaning service is taking on the role of providing food to different parts of London, as a way to address the current economic crisis.
Tarem Services launched their Mobile Food Bank initiative on October 1 at the Selhurst Children’s Centre in Croydon.
Asked about why a cleaning service was starting a mobile food bank, Titus Komolafe, the managing director at Tarem Services told EastLondonLines: “We’re a cleaning company, so we have contracts in different parts of different councils and different boroughs, and this particular one is a client of ours that’s based in Croydon.”
Komolafe believes that the Croydon-based Children’s Centre was a good choice to start the initiative with because they had over 3,000 people on their mailing list who at some point required this service.
Tarem Services identifies organisations in different parts of London that have access to and work with the people in need of these services.
Komolafe told Eastlondonlines: “We wanted to support organisations that are working with families who are on a low income, out of work, or in poverty. Not just our own staff, but beyond, to help give back to any community in which we’re working in.”
“We felt it was right to support them. So that’s how we identify (the communities).”
The mobile food bank may operate in Lewisham in the future.
According to The Trussell Trust, which operates over 1,200 food banks in the UK, Lewisham saw a significant 38% increase in the distribution of food parcels between April and September 2024.
This rise in demand reflects a deeper, systemic issue, and while short-term aid provides immediate relief, it also highlights broader economic challenges.
Komolafe told Eastlondonlines; “On a wider level, the economy is not in great shape and a lot of people are falling into this trap of working and still being in poverty.
“Of course, they (the government) can definitely do more, but there’s some policy that we [need] put in place. Yet more food banks are popping up all the time because of the need. That’s such a wider issue that needs to be addressed by the government. Because it seems now the government is depending on food banks to support people, and this shouldn’t be like that in Western countries.”
