Homelessness is a tragedy in any society, especially in an economy as developed as the UK.
We're declaring war on poverty.
We believe that:
- No one should be left homeless without support or assistance to get them back on their feet.
- Nobody should be made to feel invisible, alone, or abandoned.
- Everybody should have access to enough food, water and nutrition.
So we sell soups that help feed the homeless & people in need.
Origins of Integritty Foods
“Sorry lads, your mate’s way too gone.”
“What if we take him on a five-minute walk and come back?”
“No chance. Look at him, he’s done.”
I think that’s what he said. None of us were sober enough to remember the specifics.
We all glanced around at each other. “Well, that’s it then boys, we’re not getting in the club.”
Taylor, our American mate from his exchange program at our uni, was back in the UK for a few days visiting. He had booked a homely hotel room above a pub nearby in Manchester. We eventually gave up and stumbled back, ready to bundle in and pass out on the floor. Just as the seductive lull of drunken half-sleep approached, two imposing landladies barged in.
“This was booked for two people. There’s at least eight of you here!”
And out we were.
Danny checked the time — shocked sober and concerned — barely 1am. We really picked the wrong season to go clubbing, it was bitterly cold.
Our trains out were due for 9am, and we knew we had to kill eight hours. And we couldn’t find Oscar.
Toes and fingers numb within the hour, frozen through by 3am. Beginning to panic, we found an all-night McDonald’s and tried to while away the hours nursing a hamburger we really didn’t want. Every time Danny nodded off one of the staff would wake him up, and at around 5am we had to leave.
So cold. How had we not appreciated the heavenly blaze of room temperature before? The relative tranquil paradise of warm enough. Perennially and violently shivering, we decided to head to the train station; maybe they’d have one of those enclosed waiting areas we could get some protection from the elements in. Then we could make a last stand and weather out the weather.
In a huge stroke of luck, not only was the train station open, but relatively warm, and there were basic metal perforated seats you could sit down on. If you wriggled into the right position to rest your head on the cold metal armrest you could even get a 45-minute stretch of sleep before a loud noise or wind-blown object awakened you. Many others had had the same idea as us, including Oscar who we were reunited with there.
Time came, and we left Manchester behind, returning to our warm homes with central heating and other luxuries. We only had to live homeless for eight hours — far too many do this every night.
We were young, reckless, drunk and naive, yet it was clear as day nobody should live like this. For one night we could stay on our feet, but everyone needs sleep eventually — curled under cardboard with your back bordering multi-million-pound property. It is outrageous that rough sleepers are left to fend the elements with no cohesive system of support to put them back on their feet, or help address the serious problems causing them to fall through society’s threadbare safety net.
We do not claim to be able to fix these problems. Integritty Foods merely exists in response to becoming aware of them. We absolutely aspire to contribute to ending any kind of rough sleeping or other form of homelessness in the near future, but at the moment we offer products with our promise to make a difference for people in need.
In accordance with our 1 For 1 philosophy we donate a meal for a person in need for every soup we sell. We believe if we can help in any way such as through nutrition and nourishment, we can contribute in even this small way.
With your support, we together can give a million meals to people in need.
Where We're At
Prior to the pandemic, you could find us at Winchmore Hill's The Sidings Market. Follow us over on Instagram or Twitter (@integrittyfoods on both) for updates on when and where we'll be at.
We are also very close to releasing our first selection of chilled soups designed for shop shelves. Sign up to our email list to be notified when they're stocked in stores near you.
To accompany this first launch, we're planning a fundraising campaign that will launch in the very near future. To be notified of any updates, make sure you subscribe to our emails at the top right of this page.
From there, we're aiming to start selling Integritty products at local markets and stores. If you run a store, and are interested in stocking Integritty products, don't hesitate to get in touch.