Sainsbury's Letchworth Eastcheap Local

Wilbury Community Forum has been running a free cafe for five and half years to bring local people together in a part of Letchworth that doesn't have cafes or pubs. Currently we offer a cuppa and cake, arts and crafts, good quality pre-loved school uniforms, likewise house hold goods and clothing to go and offer a free bike surgery. In a second hall we hold a family play session followed by a gentle exercise class. Offering free food released by supermarkets for community distribution will be an added benefit to us all.

Food Rescue Hub is a new food boutique, where unsold food destined for destruction can be rescued and instead, diverted from the bin by being offered to the community. The historic market town in the East of England, in fact the first to attain Fairtrade status in the county, is a prime hot spot for on-premise trade along with an array of well supported and much loved unique independent businesses. The uncooked food recovered from retail operators and local food businesses, are available on the pay-as-you-feel (PAYF) basis, making it accessible and encouraged to all members of the community, providing opportunities to make inroads to starting or furthering a journey of living a life of less environmentally detrimental impact. The Food Rescue Hub intends to provide regular and well supported opportunities to introduce and empower the community to engage in environmental conversations.

Best Before Cafe rescues surplus and unsold food from local supermarkets and offers it to the community for donations of money, time or skills. The cafe runs on a weekly basis in two local community halls providing refreshments for all of our community and a 'food boutique'. The food boutique is where our customers can select food to take away with them. Our aim is to highlight the issue of needless food waste and also to feed our whole community. (NB: Donations are put back into the cafe to cover running costs and therefore make it a sustainable venture.)