King Charles's freezers help save food for a million meals

The donation of freezers by King Charles has helped a food charity double the amount of food it can provide for struggling families.

A year ago, through a royal charity, the King contributed towards a £1m fund to buy 800 freezers.

The Felix Project in London is saving the equivalent of almost a million meals a year, using food which would otherwise be thrown away.

Another food project in Towcester said the freezers had been a "game-changer".

"The extra freezers have been transformational, and I am so proud of the fact we have been able to double the amount of food saved," said Charlotte Hill, chief executive of the Felix Project, which redistributes surplus food from supermarkets and caterers.

"We know the need out there is so high at the moment, and with Christmas round the corner families are feeling even more pressure to spend money," she said.

It might not be the most glamourous of royal gifts, but it might have been one of the most practical, when the King provided the cash for freezers and fridges last winter.

It also dovetails with the King's Coronation Food Project, which aims to reduce food waste and at the same time tackle food poverty.

The freezers and fridges mean food banks and charities do not have to turn away food, but can keep it for later.

Among those getting help was a south London project, Keep the Drums, Lose the Knife, which runs a food bank each week.

"Before getting the fridge we couldn't accept many fresh items, like meat and fish, ready meals, dairy and more, it really limited what we could provide," said charity founder Sarian Karim.

Towcester Community Larder in Northamptonshire said the fridges and freezers "came at the perfect time, when the cost-of-living crisis was really escalating".

Volunteers at the food bank were able to store extra food, which meant they could run another session on Wednesday evenings, particularly helping those facing in-work poverty.

Operations manager Katie Steele said the evening session "really supports those people who are working full-time, yet still desperately need our support".

The funds for the 800 freezers and fridges included a donation from the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund, which has since changed its name to the King Charles III Charitable Fund.

The Felix Project, which received a huge industrial freezer, redistributes hundreds of tonnes of surplus food, and welcomed the extra capacity.

"It is not only items like vegetables, it is also items like ready meals and meat, the kind of food people put in their freezer at home. It means we can do the same on a huge scale and then give this food to people that really need it," said Ms Hill.

Baroness Casey, who has helped with the Coronation Food Project, said the practical impact of donating freezers was a good example of what could be achieved and would bring better access to food to "communities in need".

You can see more royal stories in the free BBC Royal Watch newsletter emailed each week - sign up here from within the UK. or here, from outside the UK.