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Lifeafterhummus

This page is a summary of the collaboration between Lifeafterhummus and UCL postgraduate students and researchers through the Evaluation Exchange.

Boxes of different foods stacked on top of each other

Lifeafterhummus (LAH) Community Benefit Society provides a range of support to local residents in Somers Town including food parcels (made up from surplus food), referrals for debt advice, grants, care navigation, welfare rights, domestic violence and employability. LAH works alongside local partners and the Council in the London Borough of Camden.

How we worked with the Evaluation Exchange

4 people sitting in a room at desks looking at the camera
The team developed and tested Social Return on Investment (SROI) as an evaluation method to understand and quantify the social, environmental and economic value that LAH create, crucially in a monetised form. 

They worked together to scope out how SROI would work in the context of LAH, collecting and analysing data, whilst developing case studies to provide illustrative, real-life examples of LAH’s work.

Legacy for Lifeafterhummus

“It's a very powerful programme that connects both academics and practitioners. I've done lots of social enterprise training and no one has cracked SROI the way this programme has.”

Farrah Rainfly, Founding Director 

bean with a root and stem growing out of it with life after hummus community benefit society written next to it

Legacy for the students and researchers

“It has been such a great experience to both adapt skills from my PhD and learn new ones. I have learnt so much more about the charity sector.”
“It’s a very useful program to know how the NGO works and how we can measure their value using social return on investment. The training, group members and organisation are amazing to work with. The experience is priceless. Many thanks!”

The students and researchers working with Lifeafterhummus 

Students and researchers involved 
  • Nancy Bird (PhD student, Genetics, Evolution, and Environment)
  • Claire Fletcher (PhD student, Geography)
  • Eleanor Yang (PhD student, Sustainable Construction) 
  • Xinyue Zhang (PhD candidate, Chemistry)
Resources from the collaboration

Find out more about the Evaluation Exchange