VOICES OF HOPE BRITE BOX PROJECT TO BE SHOWCASED AT THE HOUSE OF LORDS ON 18TH JUNE 2025

PRESS RELEASE 

 Kingston upon Thames, 16th June 2025

Southwest London charity, Voices of Hope has today announced that their BRITE Box project will be presented to a group of MPs, charity, faith and business leaders and health professionals at the House of Lords on Wednesday 18^th June.

The BRITE Box project offers families nutritious ingredients and illustrated recipe cards that make cooking at home fun, educational, and accessible. Each week participating families receive a BRITE Box – to cook a healthy meal for a family of five - equipping them with the tools to improve their health and sustainability, alongside reinforcing healthy eating habits for the long term.

The presentation on 18^th June is due to a recent visit made by Professor Syed Kamall to the Kingston upon Thames hub. Following a mention he made to the BRITE Box project during a recent debate in Parliament on health outcomes, malnutrition, and obesity, Professor Kamall, Member of the UK House of Lords and a Professor of Politics and International Relations at St Mary's University highlighted BRITE Box as an impactful, community-centred approach to supporting family health and resilience.

Throughout his speech, Professor Kamall emphasised how BRITE Box transforms family dynamics by making mealtime a shared experience rather than a solitary task for one parent, adding

“When one of my students told me about the BRITE Box project and how it is helping people in local communities cook healthy meals on a budget, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know how I could use my platform in the House of Lords to highlight the fantastic work that is being done and to show other politicians that when we are talking about tackling obesity, it doesn’t always have to be about laws banning this or that. The BRITE Box project shows that it can be a positive and fun thing helping people to cook in a healthier way.”

During his recent visit to the Kingston upon Thames hub, the team of staff and volunteers were able to share with him the work they do, the challenges they face, and the future aspirations for the project which currently reaches 810 families in 7 different locations across London and beyond. Lord Kamall has now become a BRITE Box champion, sharing how BRITE Box supports families with nutritious food, practical skills, and community connection. His highlighting of the difference BRITE Box is making to families – enabling them to learn new skills and build healthier habits together – has led to the invitation to present the project on 18^th June.

Voices of Hope CEO, Sarah Clay added

“BRITE Box began in 2020 as a proactive, hands-on response to food insecurity in our community. What started as a simple idea—equipping families to cook and eat well together—has grown into a mission that’s reshaping habits, strengthening family bonds, and addressing food insecurity from around the dinner table. We’re excited to bring this story to Parliament, to show MPs, business and health leaders the impact of our communities coming together with compassion, creativity, and a commitment to long-term change.”

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About BRITE Box

The BRITE Box (Building Resilience In Today's Environment) project was launched in 2020 and is run by the Voices of Hope Charity who manage three BRITE Box hubs in SW London (Kingston, Richmond and Elmbridge) and also work with partners in Southwark, Croydon, Camden and N. Ireland. Designed to address increasing levels of food insecurity in local communities, BRITE Box aims to reach as many families as possible through the joy of cooking and eating together.

BRITE Box provides weekly recipe meal kits, with all the ingredients and a child friendly illustrated recipe card to enable children and their families to enjoy cooking and eating a healthy meal together.

BRITE Box builds engagement through a fun, hands on, family activity, led by children.

BRITE Box helps tackle food insecurity and health inequalities. BRITE Box helps with the family food budget each week AND builds lasting behaviour change which has a positive impact on both physical and mental health.

BRITE Box provides so much more than ingredients for a meal, it really is the ‘box which keeps on giving’ - building confidence and skills in the kitchen, bringing children and their families together around food in the home, giving no cost opportunities to try new foods, flavours and budget friendly recipes and creating lasting skills, habits and a love of food for life.

The project’s impact has been evaluated by a research team from Kingston University, details of which can be found here BRITE Box University Evaluation Sept 2022 (voh.org.uk)

BRITE Box Background

The BRITE project was founded and is run by the Voices of Hope Charity (no. 118 7454) who manage three BRITE Box hubs themselves in SW London (Kingston, Richmond and Elmbridge) and also work with partners in Southwark, Croydon, Camden and N. Ireland, operating within a social franchise model.

Voices of Hope is a Kingston based charity founded in 2019 by CEO Sarah Clay. The charity aims to transform the lives of women and children who are experiencing disadvantage and isolation due to being marginalised and through personal or social circumstances.

CONTACTS

Marie-Anna Gallès, BRITE Box Project Lead - marie-anna.g@voh.org.uk

Kasha Wood, BRITE Box Managed Hub & Programme Lead - mailto:kasha.wood@voh.org.uk

Sarah Clay, CEO, VoH – sarah.clay@voh.org.uk

Website: https://www.voh.org.uk/brite-box/

Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and X @briteboxproject to keep up to date with all things BRITE Box or email us at brite.box@voh.org.uk.