The Feed, a Norwich-based social enterprise, has been named the winner of this year's Small Business of the Year award, sponsored by UPP, at the Norfolk Business Awards 2022.

Established in 2014, The Feed is a social enterprise working to prevent poverty, homelessness and hunger in Norwich. It runs five cafés and a catering business, producing homemade food to generate most of its income and offering support for people facing barriers to employment to help them get back into work. 

The judges said The Feed is an “exciting social enterprise” that is “not only delivering immense value for the community, but doing so in a commercially sound and robust way”. 

They praised the company’s leadership as “modern, forward thinking and enabling”, adding that The Feed is “underpinned by clear and powerful values that are applied to the day-to-day running of the company, including how The Feed minimises its environmental impact”.  

“This award recognises the hard work of our staff team and volunteers, as well as the many business partners and supporters who collaborate with us,” said The Feed CEO Lucy Parish on what it means to win the award. “It also shines a light on the need for our work to prevent poverty, hunger and homelessness in Norwich.

“Sadly, we expect more people in Norwich to need us in the coming months and we will scale up to help as many as possible. We will help people into employment through work experience in our cafés and provide food to those unable to afford it from our Social Supermarket.”

 

About the sponsor

Upp is proud to be rolling out its next-level broadband to businesses and homes across the East of England, starting in Norfolk and Lincolnshire.

Its full-fibre network is entirely built and owned by Upp, meaning gigabit speeds (upload and download), incredible reliability and experts based in your area for same-day callouts.

Upp is based in Peterborough, and so far it has hired over 140 people from across the region to help take the business to the next level.

 

The Finalists

Chadwicks 

Chadwicks is a wealth management firm that specialises in advising business leaders.

Based at the University of East Anglia, the company has created a strong team of economics and business graduates over the course of more than 25 years.

The judges praised the company for “living and breathing its values,” which has seen it add significant value to the community in which it operates. 

 

MAD-HR

MAD-HR is an HR consultancy with offices in Norwich, Ipswich and Chelmsford. Launched in 2014, its team hails from an array of sectors, making them well-placed to serve businesses of all sizes and in any industry.

The judges said MAD-HR goes further than simply delivering a good product by “demonstrating that good HR management is a capability and not just a function”. 

 

Meantime

Meantime is a creative video production company with offices in Norwich and London. Founded in 2013, the business aims to produce content that inspires and strikes conversation. 

The judges were impressed with the company’s clear mission and values, which are empowering staff and resulting in “impressive” revenue growth figures. They also praised the “open-minded approach” of Meantime’s leadership.