New money-saving food shopping hub to open in Thorney

Award-winning nationwide food shopping initiative will offer shoppers savings of ‘around £100 a month’
By Darren Calpin
Published 5th Dec 2023, 10:34 BST
Updated 5th Dec 2023, 10:54 BST
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A brand new food shopping hub which aims to help people save money on their food shopping is set to open in Thorney.

Award-winning food repurposing scheme ‘The Bread & Butter Thing’ (TBBT) is due to welcome shoppers to Thorney Community Centre on Friday, December 8.

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TBBT’s area manager for the East Midlands, Nate McDowall, told the Peterborough Telegraph that the scheme works by appropriating food stuffs which retailers have decided to throw away for “absolutely ridiculous reasons.”

These are the kind of items that volunteers will pack into the three (chilled, ambient and fresh) shopping bags TBBT customers get for £8.50.These are the kind of items that volunteers will pack into the three (chilled, ambient and fresh) shopping bags TBBT customers get for £8.50.
These are the kind of items that volunteers will pack into the three (chilled, ambient and fresh) shopping bags TBBT customers get for £8.50.

Most of the discarded foodstuffs are earmarked for waste because they have damaged packaging or have exceeded their sell-by dates.

“We have a good supply of all of the food that goes off to landfill,” Nate said.

“We check that it is definitely okay for human consumption and then we sell it on as cheap as is humanly possible to whoever needs our services at the time.”

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Those wishing to use the service pay just £8.50 for a week’s shopping.

The Bread & Butter Thing's area manager for the East Midlands, Nate McDowall (centre) with his army of trained volunteers at Thorney Community Centre. "We're always looking for more volunteers."The Bread & Butter Thing's area manager for the East Midlands, Nate McDowall (centre) with his army of trained volunteers at Thorney Community Centre. "We're always looking for more volunteers."
The Bread & Butter Thing's area manager for the East Midlands, Nate McDowall (centre) with his army of trained volunteers at Thorney Community Centre. "We're always looking for more volunteers."

This sum buys three large shopping bags: a fresh bag, an ambient bag, and a chilled bag.

The bags are filled with a wide range of essential items by volunteers who are trained to ensure all users get a fair share.

Nate explained that the three bags typically have “about £35-40 of value in shopping” in them.

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Getting £35-40 worth of food for £8.50 represents a considerable saving to most shoppers these days.

The award-winning nationwide food repurposing scheme was started in 2016 to make the issue of food surplus work in favour of low-income families.The award-winning nationwide food repurposing scheme was started in 2016 to make the issue of food surplus work in favour of low-income families.
The award-winning nationwide food repurposing scheme was started in 2016 to make the issue of food surplus work in favour of low-income families.

“They’re saving around £20-25 a week,” Nate noted, “so if they use us every week then they are on average saving around £100 a month.”

Anyone who wishes to take advantage of the service will need to join TBBT first.

There is no criteria to become a member - people simply need to text 07860 063304 to register, then turn up at the community centre at 2pm on Friday to collect their food shopping.

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Users will receive a text message every subsequent Wednesday to see if they’d like to take advantage of TBBT’s offerings that week.

The scheme is offering people in our region an incentive for registering.

“As an added bonus for this area, everyone who registers with us before March 24, 2024 gets their first set absolutely free,” Nate said.

Related topics:East MidlandsPeterborough Telegraph