Foodsave Honiton
1
The Pitch
Problem statement
Room to expand our organisation to support the ever increasing supply & demand we face: Foodsave is one of the biggest redistributors of surplus food in the South West. Working across East & Mid Devon and Exeter, we work to reduce food waste within communities by giving it away for free to families. Foodsave’s work is both environmental and wellbeing-focused. In January 2024, Foodsave redistributed 7,207.77kg of perfectly-useable food across 4 communities. This weight total for the month has a CO2 equivalent saving of driving from Devon to California, and represents £22,661.23 worth of food. We pass this food on to local families for free, with no eligibility criteria.
Solution
Due to the growth of our organisation we have now had to find our own premises for use as a base, as we outgrew the shared base we had within a local church. The funding will be used to help make some alterations within the unit, so that we can make the most of the space and ensure that our volunteers have access to basic necessities such as a indoor toilet, currently we are sharing an outdoor toilet with other units in the block, at night these are not ideal conditions. We also need to install an internal fire door at the base of the stairs to the second floor. The activities that we will deliver from this space are the collection and distribution of food waste and volunteer engagement.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
With humble beginnings as a small community larder in November 2020, Foodsave CIC has grown to operate multiple food waste reduction schemes, such as community food parcel services, larders, fridges and freezers. We have a fantastic team of experienced and new volunteers who help deliver the service. We are being approached on a regular basis to expand our food parcel service and community fridges. In March 2024 we opened up our third new COMMUNITY FRIDGE of the year! Now, the students, staff and residents surrounding the University of Exeter's main Streatham campus will be able to access a Community Fridge service 7 days a week!
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| Internal alterations to our unit | £2,000 |
Beneficiaries
10,000 people
Who will benefit
Expected impact
Our goal is for a world without food waste. 9.5 million tonnes of food is wasted in the UK each year, and with over 8.4 million people living in food poverty, something needs to be done. We collect from multiple food outlets (supermarkets, bakeries, restaurants) 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and distribute this food to anyone in the community for free. We don’t believe in means testing – this blocks many people from accessing services and goes against the main environmental goal of our service. Since 2020, we’ve grown, collecting from more and more outlets and distributing across a wider geographical area than ever before. In 2024 we aim to save more waste food and re-distribute it so that it does not go to landfill. Our biggest aim for the future is to franchise our way of working across the whole of the United Kingdom, working with other groups and organisation to reduce both food waste and food poverty, and help reduce the environmental crisis our planet faces.
Track record
Foodsave Honiton (Food Parcel Service) - opened November 2020, redistributing approx. 3.5 tonnes of food per month through approx. 600 food parcels per month. https://foodsave.org.uk/honiton/ Foodsave Honiton (Community Fridge) - opened January 2024, redistributing approx. 1 tonne of food per month with approx. 110 visitors per day. https://foodsave.org.uk/honiton-cf/ Foodsave Beer (Walk-in Community Larder) - opened November 2022, redistributing approx. 250kg of food per weekly session to approx. 60 households each session. https://foodsave.org.uk/beer/ Foodsave Hemyock (Community Fridge and Freezer) - opened January 2024, redistributing approx. 1.1 tonnes of food per month with approx. 120 visitors per day. https://foodsave.org.uk/hemyock-cf/ Foodsave Exeter University Streatham (Community Fridge) - opening March 2024