Sainsbury's Cameron Toll

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.

The primary aims of the organisation are: (a) to promote the christian faith and its values amongst its members and the community at large (b) to support our members in education and training in accordance with biblical standards.

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