How I reduce food waste and feed families with food box scheme

WHY WE WANTED TO HELP

“The double whammy of the Covid pandemic and cost of living crisis has caused many desperate families to seek foodbank support, and this is how we responded for our community.

“Many of our customers shared stories with us of their frustrations about the difficulty of accessing foodbanks as they were asked for proof of receiving benefits to secure a food parcel or worse, the acute embarrassment of having to publicly ask for help was a major deterrent to proud people. The desperation was clear for all to see; many families did not know how they were going to cope in the months ahead.

“That was the time for us to act!”

SETTING UP THE FOOD BOX DELIVERY SCHEME

“During the pandemic we had set up our own in-store food bank collection point whereby customers would donate by buying or bringing products to add to the foodbank. The collection point would be regularly filled to overflowing. Customers could quietly ask for help directly with our discrete store team.

“However, the cost of living crisis took the need for community support to a different level. We decided to create a home-delivered food parcel service. These boxes contained all the ingredients to feed a family for a week and day-to-day essentials and delivered to the home.

“To kick-off our food box initiative we converted a shipping container into a storeroom, purchased £2000 of stock and collected lots of cardboard boxes.” 

MAKING IT EFFICIENT

“Initially we were just randomly picking things, so in the beginning it took a long time to get the process seamless. Now we’ve got a little shop set up [in the shipping container] with Cuppa Soups, jelly, washing powder, soap, shower gel etc. So we go round methodically knowing who we’re packing a box for. 

“We plan to make deliveries for a set day, but you do get people who message you on the day and they need help straight away. 

“I do a lot of the deliveries myself. Staff are always willing to help, but it doesn’t take any time out of the shop if I do it.”

TACKLING FOOD WASTE AND SAVING MONEY

“Generally we’ll have a meal plan and then, depending on who it is, we look at what we can provide to complete that box. We might have two steaks that we give to a single person, or a portion of mince that we give to a family. 

“It’s a cost saving because if we get a whole load of meat in our bin we’ll get charged for it being taken away, whereas this way we can help people and it doesn’t cost us any money [in terms of food waste]. 

“We get charged for the weight of our bin, so if we’ve got pizza or bread that hasn’t gone to To Good To Go, we’ll put it in the freezer.”

CUSTOMER INVOLVEMENT

“In store we introduced an advertising board whereby customers could tear off a paper voucher strip and pay for an item. It might say ‘bread’, ‘milk’ or ‘dog food’, so they’ll pay for the cost of that item and that gives us the money to create the boxes. 

“We also have an option for customers to buy a ‘£5 variety box’. We see people buy that at pay day when they’re feeling a bit flush and they want to help. 

“We have about six items on the board at one time and we’ll change it every month so that it stays fresh for customers. We also still have the food bank that people can put products into.”

MAKING THE SCHEME ACCESSIBLE

“The boards publicising the scheme are located in all three of our stores. Customers can request a food box directly in store or send us a personal message via our Facebook page.

“We were inundated with requests and had underestimated the genuine need for assistance and the number of families who were struggling. 

“There are really hard situations … we’ve got a family where we have to deliver to a neighbour because the husband would get really funny if he knew his wife was having a food box. We never question anything. I’ve never said no to a box request ever.”

RESULTS

“At least seven boxes go out a week, but you get sporadic ones - some have it every week, some have it once a month. It can fluctuate and during holiday periods we always see an increase, so we expect to see another increase over the summer holiday.” 

“In total, we have provided over 2,000 meals to local families.

“We strive in everything we do to be at the very heart of our community. The efforts of our family, amazing staff, suppliers, and generous customers to support our community with this initiative, which has given a renewed sense of hope, relief, and support for struggling local families during these financially challenging times.

“It has been an extremely humbling time for us as we have received many touching messages of gratitude and it is pleasing to report that our food boxes for local people scheme is going as strong as ever.”