Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, has awarded Camden Giving and Islington Giving a total of £445,000 to support their work tackling food poverty. 

The commitment brings Google.org’s total support to more than £1m over the past three years, funding community projects in and around the area of its London head office.

Third Sector understands there was no open application process for the funding but the two charities have an established relationship with Google. 

Zoe Stern, head of community affairs at Google, said: “Camden Giving and Islington Giving have a deep understanding of the challenges faced by our local communities. They enable grassroots partners to address significant issues of deprivation and food insecurity.

“We have seen firsthand the positive impact that this collaborative approach has on our neighbourhood, and this grant will build on our long-standing partnership by connecting even more local residents to crisis support, employability and skills programmes.” 

Camden Giving has said it would allocate most of its portion of the funds to its We Make Camden Kit, which includes sub-grants for local initiatives. 

These include a daily lunch club for older people and Our Little Markets CIC, which distributes fresh produce boxes and offers young people employment and skills development opportunities.

Islington Giving said it would use its share of the funding to support local groups to tackle the rise in demand for food services and projects, such as through its Cook for Good initiative, which distributes food cooked by local companies in the community via food distribution partners.