A STREET food van has been recognised for an award after donating £10,000 of their profits to provide mental health counselling services in the community.

Fink Street Food based in Newbury, West Berkshire has been shortlisted in the UK Social Enterprise Award, recognising it as one of the leading social enterprises in the country.

The business is a finalist in the One to Watch category where owners James Reid and Lewis Greenwood have to clearly show their future vision and how they are going to achieve it.

The duo from Reading serve hungry customers Middle Eastern dishes at the Blue Collar Street Food Market in Market Place every Wednesday and Friday.

READ MORE: Meet the Reading duo who need £10k for their new food van venture

Mr Reid said: “Our business was hugely impacted by the pandemic, but its so great that our customers have rallied around us, enabled us to grow and helped us build a business that gives back to our community.

"We can’t wait to celebrate and spread the mental health message at the awards ceremony”

The pair use their street food truck to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health and raise money for more mental health charities in Berkshire.

Since the start of the pandemic they have used over £10k of their profits to provide mental health counselling services in the community. Fink also delivers wellbeing themed cooking classes to vulnerable young people in the Berkshire community.

Social enterprises are businesses which trade for a social or environmental purpose.

There are 100,000 social enterprises in the UK contributing £60 billion to the UK economy, each one being set up to tackle some of the biggest challenges we face from homelessness to the climate emergency.

ALSO READ: Elgar Road murder probe: Family tribute to man found dead in Reading home

Fink will be joining other shortlisted organisations at the awards ceremony held at the London Guildhall on December 8.

Peter Holbrook, chief executive of Social Enterprise UK, said: "We have had a record number of applications this year, all of which have showcased the strength, dynamism and resilience of the social enterprise community through what’s been an incredibly difficult and uncertain period.

"Over the course of the pandemic social enterprises have been going above and beyond the call of duty to support their teams, the individuals, and communities they work with, showing the grit, determination and innovation so inherent to this sector. They’ve been operating directly on the frontline of the crisis, launching new products and pivoting their business models to meet the needs of communities and society as a whole.

"The Awards are all about celebrating the achievements of the UK’s social enterprise movement, which is showing us that another way of doing business is possible - one which has never been more important as we look to build back better and address the climate emergency.”