The National Harvest Service was celebrated at Westminster Abbey today by 2,200 guests, including Her Majesty The Queen, who has been a prominent supporter of Love British Food since the social enterprise organised its inaugural Harvest Service at the Abbey in 2013.

Taking place on World Food Day, the service, which closed British Food Fortnight, was both a thanksgiving for farmers and a reminder of those challenged by hunger.

In a special message of support for the National Harvest Service, His Majesty King Charles III stated: ‘It is a time of year to give thanks to the custodians of our land in a tradition that stretches back centuries yet remains ever relevant. Their labour is the foundation of our food production, the heartbeat of rural communities and vital to the protection of the natural landscapes we all treasure so dearly.

‘The particular resolve and resilience they have demonstrated through the challenges of our changing climate in recent years deserves our utmost admiration and gratitude, particularly in a year in which the weather has made growing anything so very difficult. Our hearts go out to those who are struggling, especially as winter approaches, those with livestock.’

Founder of Love British Food, Alexia Robinson said: “Today’s service gives thanks to our farmers for the food they produce, whilst also acknowledging that many people do not have enough to eat.”

As the lead organisation of the service, Love British Food has forged partnerships with food redistribution and food bank charities – Trussell, The Felix Project, the Coronation Food Project, and City Harvest – with volunteers joining in prayers for the relief of hunger and suffering.

In recognition of this, Bishop Andrew Rumsey, Bishop of Ramsbury gave a special address during the service, highlighting the importance of sharing and caring for those less fortunate.

Alexia Robinson added: “There is much to celebrate. We are fortunate to live in a country with four seasons, ‘the warmth to swell the grain, the breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain’; a wonderfully varied topography with fells, dales, moors, plains, valleys, marsh, pasture, and coast; and a vibrant farming community that, despite relentless challenges, continues to succeed in producing some of the highest quality food in the world.

“From our cattle and sheep breeds – which are the envy of the world – to our wonderful dairy farmers, to the abundance and rich variety of fruit and vegetables, to nature’s harvest, we are indeed truly blessed.”

The service also included readings from actor Charles Dance OBE and broadcaster Matt Baker MBE. Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, read a specially composed poem as a gift for the Queen.

The congregation featured notable representatives from all the leading farming organisations, as well as MPs and peers from all parties. Volunteers from food distribution charities, farmers, schoolchildren and well-known personalities such as Rick Stein, Henry Dimbleby, Ross Kemp and Dame Arlene Phillips also attended.

A Harvest Torch has travelled the country over recent months, spreading the message of celebrating the harvest, and was carried into Westminster Abbey by NFU President, Tom Bradshaw, at the head of the Offertory Procession which contained harvest boxes designed by children from the John Perryn primary school in Ealing and filled with produce from City Harvest.

Following the service, a posy of flowers was presented to Her Majesty. Created by the London florist, Calluna, the arrangement reflected the narrative of Poet Laureate’s poem.

Outside the Abbey, beautiful harvest displays were provided either side of the entrance by Peter Thomas of New Spitalfields Market and in The Great West Door by lead retail sponsor of Love British Food, Morrisons.

An abundant floral and foliage arch featuring British-grown flowers, grasses, brackens, fruits and vegetables in an autumnal colour palette was also on display, made by Calluna and sponsored by London butchers HG Walter.

Also present was a vintage grey and gold Massey Ferguson 35 tractor complete with Ferguson 35cwt trailer, provided by Peter Drinkwater, a second-generation farmer from Gloucestershire. The trailer was filled with fresh produce which, along with all the food in the displays, was distributed after service by City Harvest and The Felix Project to four community projects: The Abbey Centre, Tachbrook Youth & Social Club, King George’s Hostel, and Mary Smith Pantry.

The message that echoed throughout the day was one of triumph over adversity and hope for the future. The mission of Love British Food has never been more pertinent than at this year’s National Harvest Service – championing British food from field to fork.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Media contact: Pinstone, Becky George

E: b.george@pinstone.co.uk

T: 07855 059803

Official images will be available via authorised channels

About Love British Food

The social enterprise founded by Alexia Robinson. Her Majesty the Queen supported is establishment in early years. It is now one of the leading voices championing British farmers, food provenance and food security by creating change at both grassroots and industry level. Approaching its 25th year, it unites people across the UK to celebrate homegrown food, from British Food Fortnight, the country’s biggest annual food celebration, to work in schools, hospitals, and care homes. Its mission is simple: to boost the domestic market for British produce, securing the future for our farmers and encouraging sustainable supply chains that make high quality, nutritious British food available to all sectors of our society,

About the Harvest Service

In 2013, the Abbey hosted, at the request of the then HRH Duchess of Cornwall now HM The Queen, the most magnificent Harvest Service for British Food Fortnight, the national food celebrations she helped establish. It was the first harvest service to be held at the Abbey in half a century. 500 children attended together with VIPs and politicians. The Bishop of London presided. The knave was filled with food that the children had grown, laid out on trestle tables running the full length; and the produce was collected by a Fuller’s dray, horse and cart, and taken to a London food bank. The following day, the service was the main front page photograph on both The Times and The Telegraph. It was the most wonderful event.

About the food distribution charities

The Felix Project started in 2016 by Justin and Jane Byam-Shaw in memory of their son, Felix, is now London’s largest food redistribution charity. They rescue high quality surplus food that cannot be sold and would otherwise go to waste. It is then distributed to over 1,200 community organisations and schools across London that are helping to feed people experiencing hunger. In 2024 they delivered enough food to make more than 38 million meals and Felix’s Kitchen produced nearly 1.3 million prepared meals in 2024. It has very recently merged with FareShare to form a single, more powerful organization with the goal of significantly increasing their impact on food waste and hunger across the UK. The merger combines FareShare's extensive national network with The Felix Project's innovation and London expertise, aiming to create a stronger force to tackle food insecurity and rescue more surplus food.

The Coronation Food Project was inspired by His Majesty the King and was created in 2023 to re-imagine the UK’s food supply chains and help end food insecurity. By working together with the food industry and food redistribution charities, it aims to solve two problems at once: tackling waste and reducing hunger.

City Harvest London was established in 2014 by Founders Steve and Laura Winningham. Tthe organisation rescues nutritious surplus food from farms, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, and delivers it for free to over 130,000 people a week via organisations feeding those facing hunger. City Harvest vans deliver free food for more than 1.3 million meals a month to food banks, homeless shelters, hostels, soup kitchens, mental health charities, projects supporting the elderly and socially isolated, social pantries, community kitchens, refugee hostels, schools and nurseries, family centres and domestic abuse refuges. The need continues to rise as the cost of living tightens its grip. City Harvest has sites in west, east and south London, and a fleet of vehicles that cover the whole of the UK rescuing food.

Trussell is an anti-poverty charity and community of food banks. They work together to ensure no one in the UK needs a food bank to survive, while providing emergency food and practical support for people left without enough money to live on. They are a network of 1,400 food bank locations, supported by 36,000 volunteers, 12,000 churches, 100,000s of community groups and schools and millions of people around the UK. Food banks in the Trussell community rely on the generosity of their local communities for food donations. Between April 2024 and March 2025, they provided 2.9 million emergency food parcels to people facing hunger and hardship across the UK.

Notes about schools and volunteers involved in the service can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1At3mX8gZ0mkBpMpIPpmWuR2uf2Fjs8Kx/view?usp=sharing

Logo

Images

Tags

More Like This

£13.6 million to help families and charities reap benefits of surplus farm produce

apetito’s ‘Shift for the Hungry’ donates 20,000 meals to Charity

Football and entertainment legends unite to call on football fans to tackle hunger in the UK

London based chef shares remarkable experience of being invited to the Queen’s state funeral

Naturally delicious beef re-imagined for Great British Beef Week 2024

UK celebrates public service heroes in HM The King's Birthday Honours List 2025

Taylor Swift closes out UK leg of The Eras Tour with generous donation to Trussell

The Chef Who Was Honoured Twice at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Laments For His Beloved Monarch