Soup Kitchen London and JustEat Encourage People to Deliver a Meal to the Homeless This Christmas

Soup Kitchen London, a charity for the city’s homeless and vulnerable, has released a campaign to drive donations of hot meals to those in need this Christmas.

Created by Wonderhood Studios, “Homeless Delivery” allows the public across the country to simply order a meal as they usually would through the Just Eat app, but instead of the meal getting delivered to their door, their order acts as a donation to the Soup Kitchen, funding a meal for someone facing homelessness.

The Soup Kitchen London has seen a significant rise in demand in their daily services and the rise in inflation and soaring food and energy prices appear to be driving the increase. These challenges make Soup Kitchen London’s work during the festive period more essential than ever.

The new campaign follows on from Wonderhood’s award-winning “Homeless Christmas Dinners” an emotive photography series featuring 10 beautiful but solemn and harrowing still-life photos which reflected the make-shift meals homeless people eat at Christmas time. Through 2024’s campaign, people will be able to simply order via the app as you would a Friday night pizza with the money going directly to Soup Kitchen London enabling them to make more meals and help more homeless people.  

The in-app activation is supported by OOH executions that mirror what deliveries come in, with a bag, a box and a bowl. Upon closer inspection, the receipt doesn’t specify a delicious dish, but rather a sobering line of copy that reflects the reality that homeless people face at Christmas time.

Executions include copy such as “x1 Only Xmas dinner that didn’t have to be begged for” and “x1 warm xmas dinner for the first time in years”.

The campaign was created by senior creatives, Jen Ashton and Oli Short.

Jen and Oli, said: “Christmas is a time when we take a warm meal with loved ones for granted. So, when people are ordering food to their homes over the festive season, we wanted to create a way for them to deliver a warm meal to those who don’t have that luxury - to those who don’t have a home or fixed address. By putting The Soup Kitchen on the menu in the digital delivery space.”

“Homeless Delivery” launches in the lead-up to the Soup Kitchen’s annual Christmas dinner event, taking place on 24th December. This year, Soup Kitchen London anticipates serving over 300 people at their event, approximately 15-20% higher than usual, which will be the highest attendance they’ve ever had. 

Alex Brown, director of the Soup Kitchen London, said: “For the second year in a row, Wonderhood Studios has brought extra magic to our December! This incredible campaign is a perfect example of creativity, compassion and good coming together to support a local charity. Thanks to their generosity, we can provide a warm, festive Christmas meal for our homeless friends, offering them a simple moment of joy and a sense of belonging during the holiday season. Together, we're making a meaningful difference to the hundreds of people we'll serve this Christmas at Soup Kitchen London.”

Andrew Cocker, marketing director UK&I at Just Eat, says: “We know Christmas can be especially tough for the homeless and vulnerable, so we’re grateful that we’re able to partner with Soup Kitchen to launch this important initiative, enabling our customers to support those in need in their London communities over the holidays.”

Media planning and buying was handled by Bountiful Cow.