ALDI EDINBURGH - HERMISTON GAIT RETAIL PK

The Food Rescue Group, Edinburgh was established by Ankita Gupta, 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. Local food collection and distribution across Edinburgh is led by Suyash and Mariana, with vital support from Ankita and Alba , who oversees volunteer scheduling, manages collections, and ensures timely delivery to recipient locations. Their leadership helps maintain efficiency, safety, and a strong community-centred approach in all our operations. 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 upholds the highest 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. This streamlined communication system enables fast response times and ensures the smooth running of our rescue and redistribution efforts. Through this initiative, we are significantly reducing methane emissions and resource waste by diverting large volumes of food from landfill. Our work benefits 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 foster shared ownership of the solution to food waste. As we continue to 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.

At Tummies Not Trash, we believe good food belongs in tummies, not in the trash. Our volunteer team operates 7 days a week, collecting surplus food from retailers across Edinburgh and redistributing it through our central Hub, helping ensure perfectly good food is eaten rather than wasted. Food collected through our network is made available in a number of ways: Free items, including bread, fruit, vegetables and other short-life produce, are available to all throughout our opening hours. Within the Hub, chilled, frozen and ambient items are also redistributed through our community basket model, with voluntary donations helping to support transport, storage, premises and the ongoing running of the charity. To maximise impact and minimise waste, surplus food from our Hub is also shared daily with partner organisations across Edinburgh, including schools, libraries, lunch clubs and community centres, helping extend the reach of good food into local communities. Everything we do is built around our simple goal: reducing food waste, supporting communities, and making the very most of food that would otherwise go to waste.

St Nicholas Church, Sighthill has had a longstanding connection with children in the parish and beyond, dating back to 1939, when our congregation was established. We are growing steadily, as a local church in the community and, in particular, in the ministry of care and support for families and children in our parish. Our most recent annual event, which attracts around 180 children and their families, is St Nicholas Day. We hold this celebration at the beginning of the advent season and on Sunday that is closest to St Nicholas Day (6th December). It is attended by; (a) children who come to our Sunday school (Navigators) and messy church (held on the first Friday of every month) events, (b) grandchildren and great-grandchildren of our church members, (c) children who live and play in the parish or who go to the four primary schools located in (or close to) the parish (Murrayburn, Sighthill, Canal View and St Josephs) and (c) around 100 children in all the groups (Monday Rainbows and Brownies, Tuesday Rainbows and Brownies, Elite dancers, Karate group, Cheeky monkey’s Toddler group and Demarco Dance group) that use our buildings during the week. Our focus, on St Nicholas Day, is to create a free, happy and safe space where our church, community and especially the friends of the church can share gifts and talents and help, in all ways possible, to make Christmas a happy and special time for children. In addition to St Nichoals Day, Sunday services, Mid-week meetings and other special gatherings, we hold regular family and community events in our buildings. including; a coffee morning (on Wednesdays 10:30 am – 12:30 pm) and Together@lunch (a free community lunch held, twice a month, in partnership with Bethany Christian Trust, Be Healthy Together and other groups). Also, thanks to our growing partnership with Neighbourly, we now pass on around 600kg of food items, donated to us by M&S, to individuals, families and groups in our community We are exploring ways of developing this initiative into a project (Let’s Eat Together) where on the one hand, we’ll support the vision of M&S and other superstores to reduce, by one half, the amount food wasted in their stores and, on the other, pass on food to the elderly, vulnerable and needy individuals and families in our community. Again, we are keen, very keen to set up a community project (Let’s Eat Together) which will include together@lunch and two Community Food and Fridge hubs. We plan to locate one of these hubs in the Calders (where we work well and in partnership with Bethany Christian Trust, Calder Residents Association, local schools and other groups). The second will be located in our premises. Like the 75 other community food an Fridge hubs in the UK, we are keen to see this these hubs serve our community well as a place to share food in empowering and respectful ways, reduce waste, encourage connection and promote, to use an African term, a sense of communalism.