News | 10 March 2021
A student from Cardiff Metropolitan University has been named a hero as part of the Census 2021 campaign, thanks to his commitment to his community.
Floyd Haughton, a second year student in the Cardiff School of Management, has been awarded a Census Heroes Plaque in recognition of his efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.
Floyd is one of just 22 people across the UK to be recognised with a Census 2021 Hero plaque.
The onset of the global pandemic put Floyd’s plans to start his own food business on hold in the summer of 2020, yet undeterred by cancelled events and festivals brought about by the national lockdown, Floyd used the savings for his start-up – a mobile street food business selling hearty Jamaican meals to festival and event goers – to provide free meals for key workers, and frontline staff in his local community.
Floyd has been delivering ‘Sunshine Suppers’ in Cardiff, providing a much-needed home cooked meal for doctors, nurses, paramedics, teachers, cleaners, bus drivers and other key workers continuing to work on the frontline throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Since March 2020, more than 800 traditional Jamaican meals have been delivered to key workers and elderly people across the city, all cooked and paid for by Floyd.
The popularity of Floyd’s initiative and the entrepreneurial skills he’s learnt at Cardiff Met has seen him set-up a community kitchen, based in Butetown Community Centre, where proceeds from sales help fund the gifted suppers. His determination continues and has enabled Floyd to recruit and train three friends who volunteer in the kitchen to help him increase capacity.
Speaking of the announcement, Floyd said: “I’m humbled by this recognition. When lockdown made it clear my plans for the summer would need to be put on hold, Sunshine Suppers was the next best thing.
“Cooking meals for key workers and elders in the community was the least I could do - a small thing to help people during these difficult times. Cooking is an enjoyable way of connecting to and sharing my Welsh-Jamaican cultures whilst also helping me unwind from the demands of university. It’s come from the heart, I’ve learnt a lot, but it hasn’t felt like a chore at all.”
Laura Wilson, a frontline paramedic said: “I have worked all through lockdown as a paramedic on the frontline. Working 11-hour shifts in PPE is exhausting and to have a delicious meal gifted to me at the end of a long day was amazing.
“Floyd delivering a home cooked meal at the height of the first wave brought a tear to my eye. I cannot thank Floyd enough for thinking of me and others and am delighted to see him recognised in this way.”
Professor Cara Aitchison, Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff Met said: “Where some might have paused and bemoaned the forced change of plans, Floyd sought to drive his ambitions forward and used his own funds to help others in a time of great need, creating a social enterprise in all but name.
“He is a shining example of the values-driven, entrepreneurial and creative spirit that encapsulates everything that Cardiff Met stands for.
“We are all immensely proud of what Floyd has achieved in the face of so much uncertainty and are delighted to see him recognised both locally and nationally with this Census Heroes Plaque.”
Floyd' plaque will be unveiled at Butetown Community Centre, where it will placed.
