The UK’s first ‘pay what you like’ supermarket has opened…but there’s a catch
The food is priced on a pay as you feel basis to help families feed their children
A food waste “supermarket” where shoppers pay what they can has opened in Leeds.
The Real Junk Food Project’s warehouse on the Grangefield Industrial Estate is stocked with surplus food from supermarkets and local businesses.
It was started by Adam Smith in December 2014, when he noticed there was a huge amount of perfectly edible food being binned in the UK.
At the same time he also saw a record amount of people who have started to rely on foodbanks to feed their families.
Customers are encouraged to “pay what they feel” for items and this could be by giving time, money or skills.
“We ask that you pay what you feel in time, money and skills. We do have people coming with the intention of paying and if it carried on like it does, it will pay for the coast of the warehouse, Chef Adam Smith, founder of the project, told The Huffington Post that the supermarket was never planned.
“We were intercepting food at our central HQ in Leeds at an enormous level, that we encountered surplus food which we couldn’t stop from going to rot.
“We then opened the warehouse up to the public and it was an instant success. We didn’t plan it, is was a consequence of operations.”
It also saves food from landfill waste from a variety of sources - including visiting allotments, restaurants, cafes and food photographers who wish to donate their surplus produce.
When asked if the food was safe to eat, Sam Joseph, one of the TRJFP directors, told The Huffington Post that the team use “common sense” when selecting food to sell to the public.
“Most of the foods we serve are low-risk, otherwise we’re very careful,”
“Often ‘best before’ dates are so arbitrary - who says that bang on 11.59pm some food is going to go off? In our eyes, if a vegetable is not mould, then it’s fine to eat.”
Kirsty Rhodes, a shopper at the supermarket told The Independent, “The warehouse has absolutely been our lifeline over the past month or so. With three young children and two adults to feed we started to struggle straight away. Luckily we took the plunge to go to the warehouse and it was amazing!”
Adam Smith told The Independent that there are plans to open a warehouse selling surplus produce in every city in the UK.
He said: “We’re about to start in Sheffield and Bradford. Every city will now obtain central storage and run a ‘people’s supermarket’.
“We need volunteers. Driving, weighing, sorting, stacking shelves, cleaning and much more. Lots of opportunities for people to get involved and give back.”
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