Shrewsbury Food Hub is a volunteer powered charity that was founded in 2016 with a mission to reduce food waste for the good of our community and our environment. Our vision is a community where food is valued and not wasted.
Every year, the UK throws away over 10 million tonnes of food–enough to feed the entire population three meals a day for 11 weeks (Source: WRAP). Meanwhile, 7.2 million adults experienced food insecurity in June 2024 (Source: The Food Foundation) and many in our community are struggling as the cost-of-living crisis continues.
To address these issues, Shrewsbury Food Hub collects surplus good food from 40 local shops, manufacturers and farms that would otherwise go to waste. Our volunteers collect form suppliers seven days a week, come rain or shine. The collected food is sorted at our depot and then redistributed to 70+ local charities and community groups, saving them money so they can do more.
Since 2016, we have rescued around 1200 tonnes of surplus food, providing our community with enough food to make more than 2.5 million meals and mitigating over 3000 tonnes of greenhouse gases CO₂ equivalent.
We estimate that the food we rescue and supply to the community reaches at least 3,300 people a week through our network of community partners. Our operation saves our community partners money and helps improve the health and wellbeing of their beneficiaries. Our local homeless support centre can provide healthy, nutritious meals to feed their vulnerable clients; schools can offer free toast and fruit to children who have not had breakfast, improving their readiness to learn; and groups like Shropshire Mental Health Support and Shropshire Supports Refugees can overcome social isolation by bringing people together for a meal or coffee morning.
Some groups rely entirely on the food supplied by Shrewsbury Food Hub to be able to provide meals or refreshments for their beneficiaries. Our local homeless support centre, The Shrewsbury Ark, & Surplus food from the Hub saves us approximately 95% of our food budget, helping us support over 50 people a week. “Our town is lucky to have the Food Hub. They do an incredible job of spreading kindness whilst saving the planet.”
As a charity that is deeply embedded within our community, we know that the value of food is far greater than just nutrition. Food brings people together, creates connection and engages communities. By using surplus food to support local organisations and reduce social isolation, we are helping strengthen our community.
We are doing all we can to support our community, however, our limited resources are stretched. The cost-of-living crisis has increased the costs of our operation while also heightening the need for food support in our community. By helping us to cover essential costs, the funds raised through CEO Sleepout Shrewsbury will make a huge difference to our charity and have a meaningful and far-reaching impact on the lives of people in our community.
Being a charity partner of CEO Sleepout is a really exciting opportunity for our charity to raise much-needed funds, but also to connect with compassionate business leaders and raise awareness of how reducing food waste benefits both people and planet.
