02 May 2025
St Albans Community Pantry has been awarded a bronze Smiley Award in the category for charities with turnover under £100,000.
Often referred to as the Oscars of the charity world, the Smiley Awards ceremony took place in March at Indigo at the O2 in London, hosted by TV presenter Lisa Snowdon. The awards were presented by a host of other celebrities including Patsy Kensit, Patrick Grant, Patsy Palmer and several Love Island graduates.
The award recognises a compelling documentary about the charity’s work created by independent filmmaker Nicky Jeffes, which showcases the organisation’s efforts to combat food waste and food insecurity in the St Albans community.
Nicky said: “It was a privilege to make this film for the St Albans Community Pantry. In my storytelling, I wanted to highlight what I see as the ‘perfect equation’ of the work the charity does.
“You have on one side, good food that is destined for landfill and on the other, you have individuals and families going hungry. SACP solves this equation.
“I especially want to say thank you to the people I filmed for being so brave and honest with me when speaking about their very personal experiences with food insecurity.”
Founded in 2020, St Albans Community Pantry (SACP) operates as a hybrid food bank and food rescue operation with a vision of closing the loop between food waste and food insecurity. The entirely volunteer-run organisation rescues surplus food from local supermarkets and offers it to the community through their community fridge and bread pantry, ensuring that good food doesn’t go to waste while helping those in need.
SACP provides targeted assistance to vulnerable individuals and families experiencing hardship through weekly boxes of predominantly fresh produce. Currently, the charity distributes food boxes to over 400 individuals each week while also hosting regular community lunches and tea gatherings for local residents.
This recognition from the Smiley Awards highlights the significant impact that small charities like St Albans Community Pantry can make in addressing critical community needs through innovative approaches and dedicated volunteer efforts.
The film has also been selected by the British Film Institute to be included in a project called On Screen Heritage which will preserve key online works. The BFI praised the documentary in an online article stating: “The film captivatingly conveys a sense of warmth for the local community in support of people facing challenging circumstances.”
You can watch the film here.
