Deliveroo has teamed up with Britain’s Got Talent finalist and funnyman Kojo Anim, to launch a special range of charity Christmas crackers called ‘Crackers Cracking Hunger’, to help provide crucial meals for families in need.

This comes as it was reported that 1.3m UK families relied on food parcels over the festive period* last Christmas, and this year millions of people will also rely on food banks and charities.

Aiming to make crackers mean more this Christmas, instead of finding throwaway toys inside the crackers, customers will find a Christmas hat and a hilarious joke written by comedian Kojo Anim who is backing the campaign.

Each box of six crackers costs £10, all of which will be donated to The Felix Project and FareShare, providing the equivalent of a week of meals for a UK household in need by redistributing good food that would otherwise go to waste.

Deliveroo’s charity Christmas crackers will be available to purchase across the UK from Deliveroo Editions via the app or website from November 29th 2021 until sold out. Customers should search ‘Crackers Cracking Hunger’ to find an Editions near them.

Any Deliveroo customers who are not within delivery of an Editions site, or who would like to make a monetary donation rather than receiving crackers, can still support the cause by making a donation on the ‘Crackers Cracking Hunger – Make a Donation’ page. 100% of all donations will support Deliveroo’s efforts to deliver more meals to families who need them via The Felix Project and FareShare.

Kojo Anim said, “I love Christmas, so when Deliveroo asked me to get involved in supporting FareShare and The Felix Project, helping households in need this December, I couldn’t say no. I always say my gift is to tell jokes but my purpose is to help people.”.

Kojo Anim continues “Deliveroo is a brand that really has become a central part of our communities across the country over the past few years and even more so during Covid-19. It’s brilliant to think we can collaborate to give the ultimate gift to those in need – food – which will hopefully give some festive joy to those facing tough times. That’s what Christmas is all about for me.”

Kojo, who grew up in foster care and spent many years volunteering at homeless kitchens at Christmas says, “I know what it’s like to feel desperate and be the one crying on your knees. Before Britain’s Got Talent, I was exhausted and fed up and things could have easily gone downhill – it’s scary how quickly things can escalate for people.”

“I’m lucky because I’ve always had close family and friends around me and while we weren’t well off growing up, our community was what made us stronger, particularly around the festive season. I know not everyone has that and what I love about this campaign is that it does more than just deliver a Christmas meal to someone in need – it brings the community to them.”

‘Crackers Cracking Hunger’ is part of Deliveroo’s wider charity initiative, ‘Full Life’ which helps to deliver meals to people in need throughout the year and use Deliveroo’s unique network for good and play its part in supporting the communities in which we work. Deliveroo is on track to deliver its pledge of one million meals to people in need, with over 800,000 meals already delivered.

Deliveroo’s commitment to food poverty comes off the back of data released by the Food Foundation which shows that UK food insecurity remains higher than pre-Covid levels, affecting an estimated 4.7 million adults (9% of households) over the last six months. This compares to pre-Covid levels of 7.6%.

Will Shu, Deliveroo CEO and founder said: “Christmas is a time to share, make memories and enjoy food with loved ones. Sadly, through our longstanding relationship with The Felix Project and FareShare, we know that food insecurity impacts so many at this time of year. To help combat this issue, we have created a special range of charity Christmas crackers that will provide joy thanks to Kojo’s new jokes and, very importantly, help the nation to give the gift of food this christmas.”