Surplus to Supper's story
Surplus to Supper is an organisation tackling both food poverty and food waste. The charity, which has been running since 2017, now saves around 30 tonnes of food a week, and provides around 3000 free meals a month to communities in need. Surplus to Supper is based at Sunbury Cricket Club, but works across North Surrey and boroughs of West and South West London, delivering to over 180 different organisations. There are four strands to what the charity does:
Food redistribution: Fresh food that would otherwise have gone to waste is redistributed for free to support local foodbanks, schools, care homes, shelters, clubs, religious organisations and more.
Surplus café: The Surplus Café is run by a professional chef cooking surplus food. The ethos is to provide one free meal for charity from each meal sold at the cafe (Buy One Feed One Free). The menu is varied with a range of staple and special items and produce will change weekly, so what's on offer will too. The café is open to the community.
Surplus shop: Every weekend the charity runs a Surplus Shop, providing good quality food which would otherwise go to waste. The Surplus Shop is for everyone in the community who needs fresh produce, and those that can are asked to donate a small amount to help Surplus to Supper to continue supporting local foodbanks, charities, school lunch projects and community groups across the local area.
Events: As part of the 'Buy One Feed One Free' initiative, the charity provides good quality surplus food right across the food industry for any occasion, with the income from this helping to provide free meals for people in need within the community.
Useful learnings from Surplus to Supper
Local is the key. Surplus to Supper is moving food within a five-mile radius – from supermarkets and shops to charities, foodbanks and community organisations. The food is transported in a refrigerated van, and will be delivered within hours of collection.
The charity is very reliant on volunteers to support its seven day a week operation, finding willing and reliable people to help out with collecting, delivering and preparing food is vital to running an organisation like this.
Surplus to Supper's metrics
Tonnes of food saved.
Number of meals distributed.
Number of community organisations receiving food.
