How It Feels: Navigating Community Food Support

Have you ever found yourself seeking support from a community food space? Do you volunteer, work, or help shape policy in this area?

We’d love you to join us for a thoughtful and open conversation, illustrated by the wonderful Ellis Lewis-Dragstra. This event is a space to reflect on what it feels like to access food support, what makes it feel consistent and respectful, and what matters most—beyond the food itself. Together, we’ll explore what’s working well, what could be better, and how we can learn from each other through honest, supportive dialogue. Your experience is central to this discussion.

We'll be discussing questions like:

• How does it feel to go into different community food settings to get help?
• How important are consistency and reliability of support?
• How important is it to have a space to talk, and to get help 'beyond food'?
• And what works well across different community food settings?

This discussion is organised by Rachel Benchekroun of Fair Food Futures UK and Zoe Miles of Wen, as part of Tower Hamlets Food Partnership, and illustrations will be created by Ellis Lewis-Dragstra.

Ellis Lewis-Dragstra is a self taught London based mixed media artist whose work blends Afro surrealism, social commentary, and visual storytelling to explore themes of identity, childhood, humanity’s connection to nature, and the subconscious mind. Working across paint, watercolour, photography, pencil, and digital illustration, Ellis bridges traditional and modern techniques to create layered, dreamlike compositions that feel both accessible and emotionally resonant. Rejecting rigid divides between “high” and “low” art, they invite audiences, especially those who might not see themselves as “art people” to connect with art without barriers, finding meaning in its details, humour, and depth. Alongside their studio practice, Ellis has exhibited widely across London, including at the Natural History Museum, and contributed to fundraiser exhibitions supporting Caribbean hurricane relief, Palestine aid, and UK food poverty initiatives. They have also led workshops for BAME children affected by trauma, using art as a tool for healing, self expression, and understanding the world and the self better. Ellis uses art as a lifelong way to process, question, and reflect on the world, creating work that sits at the intersection of the personal and the universal.