King Charles serenaded as he marks his birthday by showcasing Coronation food hubs

The King marked his birthday at a cause close to his heart as he officially opened the first two Coronation Food Hubs.

King Charles III opened one virtually and then another one in person. His 2024 birthday, his 76th, also marks the first anniversary of the Coronation Food Project which looks to fill the gap between food waste and food need across the UK.

In addition to reducing waste, the distribution centres will help save and circulate tons of surplus food.

As he marked his birthday, The King hosted a surplus food festival where guests could enjoy a number of meals from food which otherwise would have been thrown away.

The food comes from places like catering companies or supermarkets. During the festival, he sat with a group of students from Peckham’s Rye Oak Primary School who will directly benefit from one of the new hubs. He took time to learn about the foods they enjoy and was even asking about their school lunches.

And they made it a birthday to remember by singing for The King who appeared delighted to be celebrated on his big day.

As he toured the new facility, alongside the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and met beneficiaries, he also got a little handy as he helped install an industrial freezer. The freezer will increase capacity by 400% helping to preserve more surplus food.

According to the Palace, the first two Coronation Food Hubs are only the beginning of a network of 10 hubs. To date,  £15 million has been raised to help build, design and run these hubs. Since it began, the food project has already saved an additional 940 tons of surplus food, the equivalent of about roughly 2.24 million meal portions. It’s reported that 14 million people throughout the U.K. are struggling with food insecurity.