Getir Stirchley

The Real Junk Food Project Central is a Community Interest Company established in August 2017. We intercept edible food destined for waste from supermarkets, restaurants and shops, and make it available for human consumption through our network of local, community-focused cafes and food boutiques. We also offer unique events catering and bespoke training under our TRJFP Academy. Everything we do is always Pay As You Feel, and welcoming of people from all walks of life. You are welcome to pay for your food in cash, time, skills, or anything else you can think of! We operate on a bottom-up philosophy, where local cafes and food boutiques are run by representatives of their community.

Formerly known as The Real Junk Food Project Birmingham, Incredible Surplus has been operating since 2014. Since then, we have redistributed over 1800 tonnes of waste food, cooked and served over 36,000 meals, helped 100 people achieve a Level 2 Food Safety Certificate, and seen dozens of volunteers move on into paid employment. All this would never have been possible without our amazing bank of volunteers and without the ongoing support of our donors and partner organisations. Our volunteers intercept food and other items that would otherwise go to waste from supermarkets, restaurants and other sources and redistribute them on a “Pay-As-You-Feel” basis. We run a series of community venues on a weekly across Birmingham and Solihull. We also ‘pop up’ at other venues. Please see www.incrediblesurplus.org for more info. The food we intercept has to be fit for human consumption and therefore we do not take food that has reached its Use By date, but we can take food past its Best Before date. Alongside food donations we also receive non-food items such as toilet rolls, household items, toys, and clothes, which we can redistribute across Birmingham at regular venues and via partner organisations. Our project is for everyone and we attract a wide range of people. In the main however, we feed people who are in food poverty; this includes the homeless, refugees, single parents, people with mental health problems. What is unique with us is that anyone can access the donated items or food on a Pay As You Feel basis. All give something back in return, whether this be a cash donation, their time, or skills. This system helps to prevent stigmatisation as well as fostering an enabling approach. Our project is predominantly run by volunteers. We have just a handful pf paid staff who are paid the living wage and volunteer extra hours on top. Many of our volunteers hold level 2 Food Hygiene Certificates, and a number of our volunteers have gained skills and qualifications and now have moved onto paid work. We're always on the look out for more donors/suppliers and volunteers!

FoodCycle runs volunteer-powered community projects across the UK – all working to reduce food poverty and social isolation by serving tasty, nutritious meals to vulnerable people. Since we started cooking in May 2009, our incredible volunteers have served over 125,000 meals made using over 146,000kg of surplus food – the equivalent saving of 657,000kg CO2 emissions.