ALDI EDINBURGH - GILMERTON RD

The Food Rescue Group, Edinburgh was established by Suyash Mishra, a student at the University of Edinburgh, to address the growing challenges of food waste, climate change, and local food insecurity. In an era defined by environmental strain, resource scarcity, and ecological imbalance, this initiative is both timely and essential. A core focus of our work is tackling food waste, a significant issue that results in the loss of valuable resources and contributes substantially to methane emissions from landfill. Addressing this problem is both an environmental necessity and a moral responsibility, as redistributing surplus food can provide meaningful support to local families and individuals in need. We work closely with local producers and retailers to ensure surplus food is rescued rather than discarded. These partnerships allow businesses to reduce disposal costs while delivering measurable environmental and social benefits to the community. The day-to-day operation of the Food Rescue Group is led and managed by Suyash and Marina, who oversee all aspects of the initiative. This includes coordinating volunteers, organising surplus food collections, communicating with retailers and partner organisations, managing collection schedules, arranging distribution, responding to last-minute changes, and ensuring food reaches recipient locations safely and on time. Their hands-on management helps maintain an efficient, reliable, and community-centred operation across Edinburgh. Our mission is powered by dedicated local volunteers who collect and distribute surplus food shortly after it becomes available. This rapid turnaround ensures freshness, removes the need for storage, and helps maintain high standards of food safety and quality. Every item is carefully inspected, and any food deemed unsuitable is disposed of responsibly to minimise environmental impact. Volunteer coordination is managed through a dedicated WhatsApp group, providing real-time updates on collection times, locations, and available quantities. Suyash and Marina use this system to coordinate volunteers, respond quickly to changing collection requirements, and ensure the smooth running of rescue and redistribution activities. Through this initiative, we are reducing methane emissions and resource waste by diverting surplus food from landfill. Our work supports those in immediate need while remaining open to anyone who values food, sustainability, and responsible consumption. By engaging a broad cross-section of the community, we aim to foster shared ownership of the solution to food waste. As we continue to develop and refine our approach, we are making meaningful progress towards a more sustainable and inclusive future. Join us in Edinburgh and help make a difference, one meal, one volunteer, and one community at a time.

SHRUB Cooperative is an organisation based in Edinburgh. The Food Sharing Hub initiative collects surplus food and redistributes it free of charge to the local community, food provision partners and a network of Edinburgh hostels. The Food Sharing Hub is Scotland’s first rescued food shop. Now located at the Pavilion Cafe and Community Hub, it saves surplus food from supermarkets and small businesses around Edinburgh from an unnecessary fate in the bin. It’s open for everyone. Simply come along to the Food Sharing Hub, fill a basket with food and take it for free or give a donation. How does it happen? To get all of this delicious food on our shelves, it takes a lot of work and a dedicated team of volunteers! ​ Step 1 In the evenings, our collection team travel round all our partner stores on cargo bikes collecting food that the stores haven't managed to sell. Step 2 These collectors then bring the food to a team of volunteers waiting at the Pavilion who sort through it and store it appropriately. This team take some of the food to local hostels on their way home. Step 3 The next morning, a team of volunteers from the Pavilion come in early to arrange the food on the shelves and put aside some food for other partner organisations. Step 4 Our doors open at 10:30am and our shelves are looking full and tidy - all thanks to all these people! We're open 7 days a week from 10:30am til at least 15:30pm -- sometimes longer!

The Venchie is situated in Craigmillar, in the south east of Edinburgh, and provides children and young people in the Greater Craigmillar area with a range of play, recreation, informal learning and issue-based children’s work within a purpose-built centre, on the grounds of an adventure playground. The building is accessible to people with disabilities, and we are registered under the Care Inspectorate. The centre comprises an arts and crafts room, sports hall, kitchen, office, meeting room / computer room and a large communal area to which all the other rooms are connected. The building sits within over half an acre of land which makes up the adventure playground. This area has a range of high quality manufacturer-designed fixed play equipment, an MUGA (Multi-Use Game Area), swings, a sand play area, and purpose-built fire pit. The location, building and grounds provide an environment conducive to delivering a range of developmental opportunities for children and young people. The Venchie has 59+ years’ experience of working with children and young people in Craigmillar and has always adapted and developed its programme to reflect the changing needs of its users. The main programmes which the project has developed over the last few years and which we intend to maintain include: • Holiday Provision - Open access February mid term, Easter, Summer and October mid term holiday programmes for local children and young people where we tackle holiday hunger. • After School Clubs - A term time programme, which focuses on developing children skills through play and social opportunities • PANDAS (Protected, Achieving, Nurtured, Diverse, Active, Safe) is an early morning club where children are collected from home. This is based on a referral system where we work with children and families who have complex needs and parents/carers struggle to get their children to school. PANDAS enables children to get to school on time having had a nutritious breakfast, so they are ready to learn. • Parent/Toddlers groups running three mornings per week, working with parents who are often socially isolated and whose first language is not English. * We offer a residential at least once per year, taking 12 children who are unlikely to have a family holiday on a residential, which offers them opportunities to develop their social skills and try activities such as canoeing and speedboat excursions which they would be otherwise unable to access. • Food Poverty/holiday hunger • Period Poverty • Nappy Poverty Currently we address food poverty by offering parents/carers excess food that we have. We often get this food by means of donations from Helping Hands who have food donation campaigns. We wish to expand on this and offer a weekly pantry where parents/carers can access food on a more regular basis. We hope to also cover this by offering ambient and non-ambient products, along with domestic household goods such as cleaning materials and toiletries.