“It’s very motivational and encouraging” – that’s how an incredible Aylesbury man who has helped collect hundreds of thousands of meals for people in need reacted to the news he has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Mikhail Adedayo Olowosale, 47, said his award, for services to the community, particularly during Covid-19, was “great recognition” for the town of Aylesbury.

During the pandemic, Mikhail collaborated with FareShare, an organisation which redistributes surplus food from food companies to charities and community organisations, and along with a group of volunteers, he collected more than 98,446kg of food - which equates to more than 233,687 meals.

The beneficiaries were largely from the Black Asia Minority Ethnic Group who, along with the elderly, found themselves categorised as vulnerable and advised to stay at home.

As the pandemic unfolded, the requests for food parcels increased from other local organisations such as the homeless and rehabilitation centres and the refugee and women’s aid homes.

In response, he approached Waitrose, ASDA, Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Greggs for donations and coordinated their distribution across the major towns of Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire.

He also helped those who were forced to stay indoors by the pandemic to learn new skills or participate in community activities to help reduce the risk of depression and loneliness.

He initiated a hugely successful 24-week Online Fashion Design and Sewing Acquisition Skills Project which was supported by the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership, set up computer skills classes delivered by newly qualified trainers who themselves benefitted from their new, remote-teaching experiences and he ensured that the elderly participated in regular social events all delivered via zoom.

He also advocates for all kinds of sporting activities and is a keen supporter of local youth basketball and football projects to help young people make a difference in their community.

Mikhail said he was “still blushing” at the news of his award. He told the Bucks Free Press: “I’ve been doing lots of community work over the years and you never expect something like this, it’s very, very motivational and encouraging.

“Everybody needs to eat food and I just wanted to make sure as many people as possible were benefitting. You start with 100 people and then before you know it, more and more people are requesting help. You wonder what might happen to these people if they didn’t ask for help.”