LOTI Heroes 2022 | London On The Inside

LOTI Heroes

LOTI Heroes is our way of recognising and honouring individuals, brands and businesses that are doing something positive for the city and the people that live here, whether it’s fighting plastic waste, breaking the cycle of homelessness, tackling food waste or advocating for diversity. After the year we’ve all had, we need to highlight the good more than ever. This is the fourth edition of LOTI Heroes, so there are some familiar faces amongst our Top 50 change-makers and pioneers as well as a whole host of fresh ones. As we celebrate this brilliant lot, their stories will hopefully inspire us all to do our bit to give back to the city we all call home.

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LOTI HEROES 2022

Dr Ronx Ikharia

Dr Ronx Ikharia is a trans and non-binary A&E doctor, TV presenter, mentor and activist. Dr Ronx studied medicine at Kings College – paying their…

Harsha L’Acqua

After being inspired by her father’s philanthropic work with Mother Teresa and time spent working for international hotel brands, Harsha L’Acqua combined her dedication to…

Hugo Worsley

Plastic waste is a huge issue across almost all areas of society but the hospitality industry is a particularly bad offender – despite recycling efforts,…

Ravneet Gill

Ravneet Gill is a pastry chef (most notably for St. JOHN, Llewelyn’s, Black Axe Mangal and Wild by Tart), author, presenter and founder of Countertalk.…

Joseph Galliano-Doig

The Queer Britain charity was co-founded by former Gay Times editor Joseph Galliano-Doig in 2018 with the mission of establishing the UK’s first museum dedicated…

Kimberley Coke

Founded in 1998, StreetSmart is a charity that raises money for people experiencing homelessness and the vulnerable by adding a voluntary £1 to diners’ bills…

Emily Gussin & Sarah Smith

Friends and self-confessed feeders Emily and Sarah set up 10 Miles Club to showcase and celebrate local food producers and encourage sustainable practices. The pair…

Anna Hemmings

Smart Works, run by CEO Anna Hemmings, is a UK-based charity that provides unemployed women with the clothing, coaching and confidence they need to secure…

Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir

The Common Press came as a very welcome addition to the Shoreditch community, opening in 2021 in response to many queer and Black-owned businesses shutting…

Lucy Vincent

Food Behind Bars is the UK’s first charity dedicated to transforming the food in prisons for the better. The organisation was founded by Lucy Vincent…

Razzak Mirjan

Beder FC is a football club that aims to raise awareness of mental health and suicide prevention. It was started as part of an initiative…

Riaz Phillips

Author, food writer and photographer Riaz Phillips is responsible for opening up a wider conversation about representation and diversity in food media in this country.…

Anna Sebastian

Anna Sebastian knows the hospo industry inside out, having worked in Mayfair nightclubs; managed The Beaufort Bar at The Savoy and Artesian at The Langham;…

Michelle Dornelly

Michelle Dornelly set up the Community Food Hub in Hackney in April 2020 when she saw how people in her borough were struggling to access…

Abi Ramanan

Papi’s Pickles is a social enterprise that produces Sri Lankan and South Indian food cooked by women from these communities who have relocated to the…

Patrick Dumas & Johnno Ransom

After noticing all the untapped potential of rooftop space in London, Patrick and Johnno set up a farm on one in Paddington, with the idea…

Lady Lane Market

Lady Lane Market, which has run on Wentworth Street and now pops up in other locations across East London, is the first female-led market in…

Aimée Felone

Aimée Felone, the founder of children's publishing company Knights Of, where the aim is to commission writers and illustrators from diverse backgrounds, initially created Round…

Janet Oganah

Frustrated at the lack of visibility and support that independent brands run by black women and women of colour where getting in the UK (only…

Alice Williams

Luminary Bakery isn't just our local bakery, but one of our favourites in all of London - and not just because they make some of…

Anqa Collective

An offshoot from TERN (The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network), a social enterprise that provides business support to refugee entrepreneurs, including help accessing and building a network…

Munroe Bergdorf

If you follow Munroe Bergdorf on Instagram, you’ll know how tirelessly she advocates for marginalised communities, using her platform to talk about and educate people…

Mursal Hedayat

The best way to learn a new language is to practice with a native speaker, but imagine if you could do that and have a…

Alice Moxley

Founded by Alice Moxley during her time on postgraduate social innovation programme Year Here, Pivot is a social enterprise that fuses her love of creating…

Douglas McMaster

As the founder of the zero-waste, closed-loop Silo in Hackney Wick, Douglas McMaster is the chef that’s probably done more than anyone else in the…

Love Not Landfill

Fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world, so the overconsumption of clothes that are worn only a few times before being discarded…

Simon Boyle

Brigade Bar + Kitchen, housed inside a Grade II-listed former fire station in London Bridge, serves up food cooked over live fire and helps bring…

FoodCycle

FoodCycle is a charity that turns surplus food into nutritious meals for low-income families, those affected by homelessness, and those who can’t afford to buy…

Marie Carlisle

Based in the Trellick Tower in North Kensington, Goldfinger is all about turning waste into gold. The social enterprise transforms surplus and reclaimed materials into…

Steve Clarke & Bonita De Silva

Cafe Van Gogh is a not-for-profit vegan café and community interest organisation in Brixton, with a mission to train adults and young people with learning disabilities so…

Swiss

Set up by former So Solid Crew member Swiss in response to the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, Black Pound…

Breadwinners

Everyone loves a fresh baked loaf but the ones from Breadwinners are extra special because the company employs refugees and young people seeking asylum to…

Mette Lykke

Tackling food waste is a huge part of a sustainable future, and it’s an issue that can be tackled in many ways as our list…

Varun & Anisha Bhanot

The number of people sleeping rough in London accounts for almost a quarter of the entire homeless population of the UK, so it’s clear that…

Jess Thompson

Migrateful is a charity and social enterprise that supports asylum seekers, refugees and migrants struggling to access employment in the UK due to legal and…

Eliza Rebeiro

Founded by Eliza Rebeiro in 2007 when she was just 14, this campaign started as a simple t shirt she had made emblazoned with the…

Emma Lundie

Enfield-based Forty Hall is not only a great vineyard making some superb English wines, but also a social enterprise. As London’s only commercial-scale vineyard they…

Alex Head

Social Pantry is an events and catering company that’s worked with the likes of Alexander McQueen, H&M, Adidas, Harvey Nichols, Rihanna and Gigi Hadid. Food-wise,…

Ali Namdari

A designer by trade, Ali turned his hand to fashion after getting caught in the rain on a cycle home and then struggling to find…

Anshu Ahuja & Renee Williams

Plastic packaging from takeaway is one of the worst offenders for waste, and with our appetite for Deliveroo and Uber Eats, the problem is only…

Celia Pool and Alec Mills

There’s a hell of a lot of plastic in tampons and pads – there are nine applicators for every kilometre of beach in the UK…

Chloë Stewart

nibs etc. is about making delicious snacks from ingredients that would normally be thrown away, to fight food waste, and enable customers to reduce their…

Eliza Flanagan & Mary McLeod

The beauty and personal care industry is one of the worst offenders when it comes to plastic, as a lot of products contain microplastics or come in…

Ella Shone

TOPUP TRUCK is a zero-waste delivery service running from an old milk float in North and East London that was founded by Ella Shone in…

Mahira Kalim

If every UK household switched to refillable cleaning products, over 300 million single-use plastic bottles would be prevented from polluting the environment in just one…

Meg Doherty

Fat Macy’s is a social enterprise that helps young Londoners go from hostels to their own homes through food. By hosting supper clubs, catering events…

Sophie Slater and Sarah Beckett

It’s estimated that 60 million women worldwide – aged 18-35 and working in the garment industry – make less than minimum wage. These women are…

Steven Dring and Richard Ballard

We love what Steven and Richard have created down in Clapham – the UK’s first underground farm. Here they sustainably grow fresh micro greens and…

Tom Fletcher

Tom Fletcher turns fruit and veg destined for the bin into juices with his company Rejuce. He set up his production kitchen in Hackney Wick…

William Pearson

We as a society have an enormous plastic problem - around 8 million metric tonnes of plastic are thrown into the ocean every year, polluting…

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