The campaign to raise awareness and donations for London-based charity in the lead-up to Christmas.  

Last year, we launched our ‘Creativity for Good’ scheme, a mission to support local businesses and charities by offering our creative capabilities to drive change and raise awareness.  

One of our kick-off projects was a campaign for the Soup Kitchen London. Located just around the corner from the Wonderhood Studios, many of our team members have already supported them through our ‘Wonderday’ initiative—a day given to all permanent employees, split between exploring something cultural and volunteering for a charity of their choice- and we deeply appreciate the work the Soup Kitchen does for those in need, especially during the Christmas period. 

With this in mind, we aimed to help support them further by showcasing the importance of their work across London, with the goal of raising awareness and driving donations in the lead-up to Christmas. 

Introducing ‘Homeless Christmas Dinners’—an emotive ‘beautiful but solemn and harrowing’ still life photography series that reflects the makeshift meals homeless people eat at Christmas time. 

Nine months on, the series serves as a poignant reminder that the sumptuous Christmas dinners advertised are not a reality for the 271,000 people experiencing homelessness in the UK.  

For the integrity of the project, all the meals shown were based on real-life experiences. Our team met with Soup Kitchen regulars to hear their stories firsthand and reflect these in the final piece.

The meals photographed included: 

• Kamga (42), who had a Christmas dinner consisting of ketchup pasta that was cooked in a hostel from long-life food donations.  
• Paul (56), spent Christmas Day lying in hospital with a punctured lung, due to street violence, and could only eat ice cream.  
• Wassa, (56) had a tin of baked beans that he ate cold with a supermarket wooden fork. 

The campaign, created by creative team Tad Buxton and India Penny and shot by food photographer Lizzie Mayson, launched ahead of the Soup Kitchen’s annual Christmas meal event. At the event, over 300 vulnerable people in London are provided with meals, along with presents and entertainment, and for many, this is the closest they come to experiencing a proper Christmas dinner. A donation of just £5 offers one person a seat at the table. 

The photo series ran in print and OOH across London and hosted online at homelesschristmasdinners.com, with a call to action to get people to donate £5 to give someone a proper Christmas meal. 

The campaign received widespread media coverage across major publications, with three hero shots featured in the Guardian’s food supplement ‘Feast,’ YOU magazine, and The Telegraph, where they were starkly juxtaposed against the lavish food spreads typically shown at Christmas and was picked up by prominent food influencers, such as Giles Corens.  

The campaign was a resounding success. With a budget of just £750, it managed to raise over £25,000 for those in need— the equivalent to more than 5,000 Christmas dinners. This also led to a significant uptick in donations to the Soup Kitchen over the Christmas period and demonstrates how the simplest ideas are often the most powerful in promoting public change.  

To view the ‘Homeless Christmas Dinners’ photo series please visit: https://homelesschristmasdinners.com/  

To find out more about the work the Soup Kitchen does, and how you can continue to volunteer, donate, or get involved, visit the website: https://soupkitchenlondon.org/