Food for Thought Heathfield distributes fresh produce to the community that would otherwise have been discarded from local supermarkets, restaurants and independent food outlets. We run a market stall in the heart of the community on our recreation ground where we gift food to families and individuals who can benefit from having additional nutrition and support. Our volunteer team makes use of personal vehicles to collect donations multiple times a day, 7 days a week. We want to be able to rescue even more while reducing our environmental impact! We have an offer of even more food that will benefit more people and with your help we will be able to do it! With a refrigerated van, we will be able to reduce our journeys, increase our collections, transport food safely and support additional stall days across the borough. It is important that our transport is kind to the environment and we are raising funds for a suitable size van to meet the ultra low emissions zone requirements.

What we'll deliver:

• Transport more food
• Food stall in a new location
• Transport our equipment
• Help more families in need
• Help hardest to reach individuals
• Provide more fresh produce to the local community

Why it's a great idea:

Our surplus food stall operates 2 days a week and we will offer additional stalls with a van to transport equipment and food to other locations. We rely on volunteer vehicles and there is more food than we are able to transport. We want to rescue more. This will benefit the environment, ensuring it does not go to landfill and we will also be able to feed even more. Having built a active community during lockdown at our local recreation ground, we will visit new communities, build relationships and pride in green spaces, raise awareness about climate change while tackling food poverty. The pandemic has resulted in an increase in food insecurity and the inability to afford food or access food under new circumstances quadrupled among adults in April 2020. The economic scars of the pandemic are likely to continue long after the immediate health risk of the virus. Public Health reports 12 children in a class of 30 live in poverty in London and you can help to make a difference.

Steps to get it done:

• Complete fundraising
• Get comparative quotes for vehicles, insurances etc.
• Purchase an environmentally friendly refrigerated van
• Confirm new supplier requests
• Confirm increased pickup schedule with suppliers
• Manage ongoing pickup schedule and coordinate stall days
• Engage with more families on a weekly basis
• Add second location to distribute the additional food

We want those who need food to have it. No food should be wasted! Our visitors choose surplus for environmental reasons, saving from landfill. We encourage everybody to use surplus food to help others, gifting and cooking for their families and the rest of the community. We do not charge for food - ultimately what we offer would have gone in a bin! Those who wish to donate help us to continue feeding people as well as support redevelopment and the community around us. A large electric or hybrid van sadly won't support what we need it to do and our next best option is a Euro 6 van. These are in demand and it is important that what we purchase meets the ULEZ (ultra low emissions zone) requirements and is as environmentally friendly as possible. Suitable secondhand vans are being snapped up fast. We will consider purchasing preloved if we can locate a suitable one, kind to the environment.