Surplus food is edible food that isn’t needed where it is, often due to overproduction, over-ordering or short shelf life, and can be shared or redistributed instead of going to waste.
Donate Surplus Food
Brighton & Hove Food Partnership is not a food bank, we do not accept individual donations. However, if you have food to donate and are:
An individual
Please visit our directory to find a food bank or local community fridge you can contact directly. You can also share food using the smartphone app Olio.
A business with a large amount of surplus food
Contact us, and we can connect you to our Surplus Food Network (SFN), who are always looking to increase the amount of surplus food that gets redistributed locally.
The SFN can accept donations of fruit & veg, dairy, ambient & dry goods, including catering-size packages, meat & fish and frozen products.
Working with the Surplus Food Network will enhance your corporate social responsibility, generate publicity for the beneficial work you are doing in your local community, and save money by reducing the amount of waste you produce.
Please fill in this enquiry form.
A business or community group with a small amount of leftover food
Consider dropping it into a local Community Fridge (see guidance below). This is an opportunity for your business to contribute a positive social impact; supporting the local community,particularly individuals who are in financial hardship. You would also be helping your business become zero waste.
Access Surplus Food
If you or anyone you know is struggling to buy food, please visit our accessing emergency food page.
Many projects across Brighton & Hove use surplus food to provide food for the community. These projects include lunch clubs, soup kitchens, food banks, and community food growing projects. Organisations putting on fundraising events may also use surplus food donations. We aim to reduce food waste by working with organisations who distribute surplus food to those in need.
There are a number of options for sourcing food for your charitable and community needs. However, with the rising demand on food providers as the Cost-of-Living Crisis heightens food insecurity, please be aware there is less surplus food to go round.
For regular food donations: Contact FareShare Sussex & Surrey, who provide surplus through the Fareshare Go project. They can offer more flexible donation arrangements directly from a retailer. Be aware there is a waiting list on these services.
– Sign up to Neighbourly, Too Good to Go and Olio to pick up surplus food through their apps.
– Contact your nearest other food project to see if they ever have leftovers. You can search your local area on our Directory.
– Ask a local business to sponsor you and buy food with this support.
– Consider a small fee (many affordable food projects ask for a membership payment around £3 per person to help with purchasing food)
– There is a Whatsapp group where surplus food offers are shared amongst food projects in the city. If you are a project that would like to join this chat, or a business with surplus food you would like to offer, please contact us on info@bhfood.org.uk.
Visit our page for more advice and Support for community food projects.
The Surplus Food Network
The Surplus Food Network is an alliance of organisations tackling food waste by working with suppliers to distribute surplus to people in need in Brighton, Hove and surrounding areas.
The network aims to increase the amount of food being saved from going to waste by connecting with each other, local businesses and organisations providing food to vulnerable people.
The Network aims to strengthen the links between these projects so that they can better share resources, build resilience and financial sustainability, and have a stronger voice together to advocate for policies to tackle food waste and social inequality.
Membership of the network includes FareShare Sussex, the Real Junk Food Project Brighton, Sussex Homeless Support, the Sussex Gleaning Network, UKHarvest and is coordinated by Brighton & Hove Food Partnership.
Other organisations are welcome to join the Network, provided that they agree with our principles, aims and way of working. Please contact us to enquire further.
The Surplus Food Network is funded by Brighton & Hove City Council and the Big Lottery Fund.
Community Fridges
A community fridge is a tried and tested way of stopping good food ending up in the bin. It is housed in a public, accessible place making surplus food freely available to anyone who wants it. The surplus food is provided by local businesses or members of the public.
The fridge has strict monitoring guidelines, based on advice from the Food Standards Agency and the Council’s Environmental Health team, to ensure it has the highest quality standards.
Anyone can donate food and pick up the food for free, they are not policed and the operation is based on trust. Anyone who needs some food can pick some up. We ask that people are considerate of the needs of others and only take what is fair.
Find your local community fridges through our directory.
If you are a registered food business and want to drop off your leftovers we need to know the date it was cooked, ingredients list, allergen information and reheating instructions.
Please don’t put the following into community fridges:
– Cooked food from your home or unregistered sources
– Cooked food that doesn’t have a use-by date
– Cooked rice
– Pates
– Bean sprouts
– Food made from unpasteurised milk
If you are interested in setting up a fridge or want to find out more contact 01273 234810 or info@bhfood.org.uk.
Volunteer in surplus food to Reduce Food Waste
Volunteers are needed to help with collecting and distributing food, harvesting, cooking surplus food and supporting food redistribution events.
Contact volunteer@surplusfoodnetwork.org.uk this email goes to all of the partner projects in the Surplus Food Network
