When social value funding reaches the right local organisations, it can make a real and lasting difference.
On 16th September, two members of our Social Value team, Suzie Hammond and Maxine Kerley visited Sufra, a charity based on St. Raphael’s Estate in Brent that works to prevent hunger, fight poverty and build community.
Sufra was one of the charities supported through a £100,000 social value initiative delivered in partnership with npower Business Solutions (nbs), one of our flexible framework suppliers. The initiative invited local authorities to nominate charities making a meaningful difference in their communities, with Sufra nominated by Brent.
Sufra coordinates food banks, community kitchens, a community shop and café, using these services as a gateway for guests to access wider support such as welfare advice, asylum support and its award-winning community garden. During our visit, it was clear that food parcels are only one part of a much bigger picture. As the team explained, giving someone a food parcel can help in a moment of crisis, but it does not necessarily solve the underlying problem.
That is why Sufra’s approach is built around practical, joined-up support. Alongside emergency food and toiletries, the charity provides advice, signposting and community-based services designed to help people build resilience. Its Community Wellbeing Service helps families before they reach crisis point, while its advice provision supports people with issues including benefits, housing, employment, debt, utility bills and immigration-related matters.
We met members of the Sufra team, including Gill Carter, Deputy Director, and Sabina Lichacz, Fundraising & Communications Senior Officer, who gave us a full tour of all the facilities and initiatives that Sufra do. Based in one of Brent’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, we heard about the pressures facing families in the surrounding area. Sufra has built its services around the reality of local need, from emergency food parcels that increase depending on household size, to donated toiletries and nappies, supermarket surplus, online donations and bulk-bought essentials that help keep shelves stocked.
400
guest supported with casework
25,000
meals distributed through its Community Kitchens
16,000
people accessing nutritious food
575kg
of produce grown in St.Raphael’s Edible Garden
One of the most memorable parts of the visit was St. Raphael’s Edible Garden. What was once an underused space affected by fly-tipping has been transformed by the community and Sufra into a welcoming garden that supports wellbeing, learning and access to fresh food.
The garden now includes raised beds, a wildlife pond, fruit trees, composting facilities, a yurt, a pizza oven and a pergola, with seasonal organic produce harvested regularly and made available through a pay-as-you-wish garden market.
The garden is also a place for people to learn and connect. From children’s activities and school holiday support to arts and crafts in the yurt, woodworking, harvesting, food growing, cooking skills and projects that reuse materials rather than create waste, the space brings together practical support, sustainability and community connection.
“The donation provided by LASER Energy and made possible by npower Business Solutions (nbs) brings vital relief to families facing severe hardship in our community, allowing us to provide hot meals, essential food parcels, and holistic welfare support to those who are struggling to keep their heads above water.
For many of our guests, the cost-of-living crisis is no longer a temporary emergency, it has become a permanent state of uncertainty. Poverty frequently hides behind ordinary events. A parent becomes ill and can no longer work full-time. A relationship breaks down. A household receives an unexpected bill it simply cannot afford. For families already living close to the edge, events like these can quickly spiral into debt, food and housing insecurity and isolation. Every day we meet people who are making impossible choices between heating and eating, rent and food, travel and basic necessities.
Sufra supported over 16,000 people with access to nutritious food last year. A donation like this can ensure we can continue our services to keep up with the growing demand year-on-year.
Sabina, Fundraising and Communications Senior Officer
Our flexible framework suppliers play an important role not only in delivering energy solutions, but also in supporting the wider communities our customers serve. Through social value initiatives like this one with npower Business Solutions (nbs), supplier partnerships can help turn procurement activity into meaningful local benefit.
By inviting local authorities to nominate charities in their area, funding can be directed towards organisations that understand local need and are already trusted within their communities. For Brent, that meant supporting Sufra’s work with residents who may be facing food insecurity, financial hardship, housing challenges, social isolation or other pressures.
Visiting Sufra was a powerful reminder of what social value looks like in practice. It is not simply about funding; it is about helping organisations continue the work they are already doing every day to support people, strengthen communities and create opportunities for longer-term change.
Sufra’s work shows the importance of meeting immediate needs while also helping people move forward with dignity, choice and support. We are proud that our social value initiatives can help local organisations like Sufra continue to make such a meaningful difference.
Sufra was one of the charities supported through a £100,000 social value initiative delivered in partnership with npower Business Solutions (nbs), one of our flexible framework suppliers. Join us as we visit Sufra and see all their amazing work first-hand.
In the financial year 2025/2026 we ran a social value initiative with our flexible framework supplier, npower Business Solutions (nBS) for our local authority customers to nominate a charity of their choice. Find out how nominee Cynthia Spencer Hospice Charity used their funding.
As a council committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 through its Climate Change Plan, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council needed to take practical steps to decarbonise its estate – while facing increasing pressure to deliver value quickly and safely.