ALDI LEICESTER - WOODGATE

The Food Rescue Group, Leicester is a community-led initiative driven by local volunteers who care deeply about reducing food waste and supporting one another. Rooted in the belief that good food should never go to waste, the group brings people together to make a positive difference across Leicester. Food waste affects both the environment and our communities. Perfectly edible food is often discarded, contributing to landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions, while many households face challenges accessing fresh, healthy meals. By rescuing surplus food, the group helps reduce environmental harm and ensures food is shared where it is most valued. Working closely with local retailers, food businesses, and community partners, the group collects surplus food before it is thrown away and redistributes it locally. This collaborative approach benefits everyone involved, strengthening relationships, reducing waste, and supporting people across neighbourhoods. The pickup and distribution are coordinated by Eman Abdalla, who manages volunteer scheduling, oversees collections, and ensures that rescued food is delivered promptly, safely, and to where it is needed most. This coordination helps maintain efficiency, reliability, and a strong community focus across all activities. Volunteers remain at the heart of everything we do. Collections and redistribution are carried out with care, respect, and close attention to food safety, ensuring all shared food meets appropriate standards. Clear communication and teamwork allow the group to respond quickly and efficiently, keeping food fresh and operations community-centred. The impact in Leicester goes beyond food alone. Each collection helps build connections, encourages shared responsibility, and fosters a sense of belonging. By valuing food and supporting one another, the Food Rescue Group, Leicester is helping create a stronger, more caring, and more sustainable community.

Live Cancer Free was founded in 2015 by a dedicated team of three doctors with PhD in cancer prevention from the University of Leicester. Our core mission is to reduce cancer-related deaths by promoting preventative measures, building awareness of risk factors in highly deprived areas in Leicester, and helping people to recognise the early signs of cancer. We reinforce this work by engaging local communities with impactful projects, designed to improve overall health, fitness and well-being. During COVID-19, many elderly cancer patients (and their carers) were under greater pressure. Reacting to this we distributed over 2,900 free food parcels to highly deprived areas of Leicester over the course of the pandemic. In 2020 Live Cancer Free were proud to be featured twice on BBC Radio Leicester’s ‘Making a Difference’ program for running successful projects across highly deprived areas in Leicester. In 2021 we have received a personal letter of thanks from the Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire, Mike Kapur; her majesty the Queen’s representative for the contribution we have made to the community during the pandemic. The Live Cancer Free office is based in The Exchange Building, 5 Lee Street, Leicester, LE1 3AH, with activities hosted in various community centers across the city to ensure accessibility for all participants. We identify the needs of our service users by engaging directly with the communities, using both on-the-ground outreach and social media platforms. In addition to food support, we continue to provide healthy eating workshops, educational materials, fitness classes, and well-being programs. All services are entirely free or toward small donation, as we aim to remove any financial barriers that may prevent access to vital health and wellness resources. We currently collect surplus food only through Neighbourly, and this meets our needs. Our latest updates, events, and community activities are shared on our social media platforms, which serve as a bridge between our organisation and the communities we serve: Instagram: @Livecancerfreeleicesterltd Facebook: Live Cancer Free Leicester ltd

The Wigston Magna Community Fridge is an environmental project attached to the Wigston Magna Family Hub. It was set up in a growing effort to tackle food waste. This project is open to everyone, there are no referral criteria, the general public can just turn up and be supplied with free food that has been donated. However, we know that many people are struggling at the moment and so we do get requests for food parcels for local families that are being supported by the Family Hub that we are part of. The Community Fridge is also well known amongst the local homeless people that use other services in the area and they also attend. The Family Hub is part of Leicestershire County Council's Family Help Service. Families are supported across the county with a variety of issues such as poverty, ill health, mental health issues and disabilities. People are supported individually with visits from Family Support Workers as well as a variety of groups that support parenting skills. There is no charge for either the Community Fridge or the Family Hub services. The Community Fridge is open Wednesday and Thursday 1pm-2pm and Friday, 11am to 12 noon. The project enables residents and businesses to share surplus food and for anyone to help themselves to quality food that would otherwise be wasted. We aim to help people in need in the Wigston and surrounding area and decrease food waste at the same time. Food waste is a big issue in the UK. The average household throws away £700 worth of food every year and at the same time 4 million people in the UK are living in food poverty. Most food waste in the UK is avoidable and could have been eaten had it been better managed.