FOOD SHARING HUB

What We Do

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We are Scotland’s first rescued food shop!

The Food Sharing Hub, located in our Zero Waste Hub at 22 Bread Street, is Scotland’s first rescued food shop and exists to save surplus food from supermarkets and small businesses around Edinburgh from an unnecessary fate in the bin.

It’s open for everyone! Simply come along to the Food Sharing Hub, fill a basket with food and pay as you feel - donations help us survive but ultimately we want this food to be taken by anyone who needs it, to save it from landfill!

 

We’re open 11.00 - 18.00 Tuesday to Saturday, and 11.00-16.00 on Sundays.

 

How does it happen?

 

To get all of this delicious food on our shelves, it takes a lot of work and a dedicated team of volunteers! ​

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Step 1

In the evenings, we have collectors who travel round all our partner stores on cargo bikes or by car, collecting food that the stores haven't managed to sell. While we have two cargo bikes ourselves we also work with Cargo Bike Movement and their fleet of bikes.
 

Step 2
These collectors then bring the food to a team of volunteers waiting at the Zero Waste Hub who sort through it and weigh it. This team take some of the food to local hostels on their way home. This sorting happens between 8.30pm and 11pm!
 

Step 3
The next morning, a team of volunteers come in early to arrange the food on the shelves and put aside some food for other partner organisations.
 

Step 4
Our Café volunteers then select items that they can use in our vegan café that day such as fruit for our smoothies!
 

Step 5
Our doors open at 11am and our shelves are looking full and tidy - all thanks to all these people!