We are buzzing with excitement at our latest venture with Clarion Homes, a weekly pop-up pantry in Charles Avenue, Chichester. 

The Community Hub building, kindly provided by Clarion, has proved itself to be an ideal venue to host a Community Pantry each Thursday afternoon, where local residents can fill a bag full of nutritious food for a donation of only £2.50! 

Families and individuals are invited to help themselves to a mix of fresh, tinned and dry produce and encouraged to try new and deliciously different ingredients all whilst preventing food waste. Since the pantry opened in March, the community spirit has been tremendous, with more and more of the local community joining us as word continues to spread! 

“It’s Great! It helps us save money and its nice knowing we’re helping to reduce food waste. This is the second time we’ve come here, and we can’t wait to make our favourite with these  – toad in the hole!”

- Maria 

Using a minimal donation model is a sustainable way to reduce food waste, encouraging people to experiment with food they would not usually reach for in a supermarket. Additionally, due to the impact of Covid, the heavily subsidised price of the food (£2.50 for approximately £20 of food) decreases dependency on foodbanks, while building independence for those who have been impacted during the last year. 

We have since been approached to run some additional Pantries in other venues in West Sussex, so watch this space for updates!… 

UKHarvest are donated surplus food from food outlets, from stores to farms, that can’t sell their produce. Over the last year a large proportion of this food has been donated from organisations forced to alter their business due to lockdowns surrounding Covid-19. This food is then used by UKHarvest to nourish our nation, by providing education sessions, pantries and pop-up events, and given to organisations and charities who provide free meals to the community.