Our story
From the streets
to a movement.
AR Projects didn't start with a building or a budget. It started with a few people, some hot food, and a belief that everyone deserves equal opportunities in life.
Scroll our journey ↓
2020 · How it began
We started walking
In the middle of a pandemic, a few people started walking the streets handing out hot food to whoever needed it. No tent, no van — just meals, carried by hand.
Then · The first tables
Then came the tables
Folding tables went up on the street at night — boxes of surplus food, water and hot drinks, sorted and shared. People started to know they could find us.
Growing · The van
Then came the van
The black AR Projects van — "who are we?" written on the side — let us collect surplus at scale and run soup kitchens week in, week out, rain or shine.
Tuesdays · Croydon
The Whitehorse Road kitchen
Every Tuesday, 75 Whitehorse Road, Croydon — a fixed soup kitchen serving hot meals and food parcels to whoever comes, no referral, no questions.
Thursdays · West Croydon
The London Road kitchen
Then a second night — every Thursday at 89 London Road, West Croydon. Two soup kitchens a week, up to 800 hot meals a month between them.
Today · The Hub
The Hub & food bank
A base to pack parcels, run the food bank, hold workshops and build the organisation. Up to 900 food parcels a month — and a team growing the work every week.
Why we do it
In Stefan's own words
Our founder lost his mother to drug addiction and homelessness. That loss is the engine of everything here — it's why our soup kitchens welcome whoever turns up, and why every person we serve is treated with dignity.
Legal
A R PROJECTS CIC
Community Interest Company
Company No. 13801760
Incorporated 15 December 2021
70,000+ meals later, we're still going. Be part of it →