Words by Smiley Team
Milton Keynes was once dubbed “the utterly depersonalised nightmare which haunted Aldous Huxley” by Private Eye founder Christopher Booker. Replacing this beige reputation with something much greener and wholesome, the town has become the launchpad for a scheme that has delivered over 250,000 meals worth of surplus food to community groups supporting vulnerable people.
Using electric cargo bikes and an electric van, the Food Connect scheme saved 1.7 tonnes on transport emissions. Drivers delivered the food to community groups across Milton Keynes as well as Wolverton Community Fridge, one of the first communal fridges to open in the UK.
With the help of their partners including food distribution charity FareShare, Milton Keynes Council, manufacturers and retailers, the project delivered 109 tonnes of food, the equivalent of 260,000 meals, in six months.
Looking to the future and Food Connect’s prospective expansion, Aoife Allen, Head of Food at Hubbub, said: “The food surplus sector in the UK is very effective but there are gaps that we believe Food Connect can fill. We want to work with businesses and others in the redistribution space to make it as efficient and beneficial to the community as possible. We’d really welcome support from the business community to help make this a reality.”
Sharing these sentiments, Helen Innes, Project Co-ordinator for Food Connect, said: “Food Connect has enabled us to provide food to around 800 local families a week and has also reduced the pressure on the volunteers who would be making these journeys by foot, taxi or car to pick up the surplus food.
“The project has helped us establish a more reliable supply, including a wider variety of food to share and was invaluable in allowing us to support shielding households last year. We are so thrilled with the results and look forward to helping the service expand.”
The pilot was supported by funding from CAF Venturesome, Costa Coffee, Bosch eBike Systems, The National Lottery Community Fund, and Milton Keynes Council through the eCargo Bike Grant Fund, funded by the Department for Transport and delivered by Energy Saving Trust.
Following its success, Food Connect will be replicated across the country. Businesses and organisations interested in supporting and collaborating in its next phase should visit foodconnect.io for further information and to get in touch.
Food Connect was started by Hubbub, an award-winning charity and social enterprise that promotes eco-friendly lifestyles. Since its launch in 2014, Hubbub has led more than 60 environmental campaigns in collaboration with over 700 partners, advancing the national debate on key environmental issues such as food waste, sustainable fashion, air pollution and recycling.
Hubbub’s initiatives include #LeedsByExample which united 25 of the UK’s largest companies to promote recycling, a three-year partnership with IKEA in their sustainability campaign ‘Live Lagom’ and a network of 100 Community Fridges across the UK, each redistributing on average 1.5 tonnes of food every month that would otherwise go to waste.
Find out how you can support Hubbub’s campaigns here.
