Sainsbury's Cameron Toll

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.

The centre was established in 1995 and since then we have created a space for the community to use and to develop. We run our own groups and projects as well as work in partnership with other to provide services that support the community. Within the Centre we run Café@ONC our community café, which we serves the community through providing the following: A welcome place for people to come. Great tasting affordable food. Cooking Classes. Junior Bake Off Classes. Volunteering and Training Opportunities for young people. Place for isolated or lonely people to come, enjoy and have fun. Café @ ONC is located in the middle of our building and is also central to everything we do at the centre. It is used by all our groups and provides much more than the food it serves. It provides friendship, a welcome place to come and opportunity to move forward and build relationship. Volunteering is also at the heart of what we do as a centre, with only one paid member of staff we offer a number of volunteering opportunities these include the following: Community Café Volunteer, Garden Volunteer, After School Club Volunteer and Baby and Toddler Group Volunteer. These opportunities in the past have helped: • Retired individuals gain from voluntary work in various ways. • Young people gain training and volunteering experience in order for them gain vital experience and references before going into work. • Individuals who face challenging mental health issues, look after their mental health and general wellbeing through participating in voluntary work. In recent years we have increased the number of groups and projects using the centre and now have over 400 people each week using the centre. We also run 4 different and large community events each year bringing together around 250 people each time to build friendships, have a free fun day out and support each other longer term, through the friendships people make. As well as the community cafe the other groups, projects and services include: • Parents, baby and toddler groups • Older peoples gentle exercise classes and health walks • After school club, • Yogabellies, • Youth café, • Sewing group, • Dance classes, • Job club, • Community café • Disabled Art Group We are a centre run by the community for the community. This is key to meeting the above aims

Milan provide a three day per week day care provision where older people of the same age can relax, reminisce and chat in a safe and friendly environment, have access to recreational and educational resources and take part in activities. A hot meal is provided and elderly enjoy eating in the company of others and this is a way to reduce isolation and develop friendship which is the key factor in keeping the elderly emotionally healthy. one day per week is to provide specialized support to those with dementia, wheelchair users and the housebound. Milan is registered with the care inspectorate and we follow strict guide lines to ensure we provide a quality duty of care and have up to date care plans in place. We provide outreach service to combat social exclusion and ensure elderly are kept connected within their communities during ill health when hospitalized. Provide fortnightly carers support group to provide quality time for the carers who are in pressuring caring roles, raise awareness of the issues around caring and providing a sense of relief through group activities.. carers are encouraged to participate in activities such as exercise, regular walks which have a positive effect on their health and well being.