Our Sustainability Journey
Sustainability
We are continuously looking at ways we can reduce our impact on the environment and cut back on carbon emissions.
We have relationships with a large network of British growers and suppliers and source produce as locally as possible, cutting unnecessary food miles and subsequent carbon emissions.
Every journey counts and we take this seriously. We use a comprehensive route planner to ensure efficiency and minimise the distance your deliveries travel.
Food Waste
What happens to our consumable food waste?
City Harvest visit us daily and collect all surplus food and safely redistribute it to the hungry. Their redistribution helps organisations serve thousands of healthy meals each week and reduce their annual grocer bills – freeing up funds that can be reinvested in other vital support services. Not only helping the hungry they are diverting food from landfill where it would release greenhouse gases that lead to climate change. To date, City Harvest have redistributed food valued at more than 14 million meals, and offset over 23,000 tons of greenhouse gases.
What happens to our inedible food waste?
All of our inedible food waste is collected by New Covent Garden Market Association (NCGMA) and sent off for animal food manufacturing.
So, in short, none of our food waste is truly wasted!
Packaging
We try to use as little packaging as possible when preparing orders although some is necessary to preserve and protect produce. We’re currently investigating and trialing a number of plant based/recyclable bag options which could replace our window bags.
It’s currently not possible to eliminate all waste as we have produce arriving from hundreds of farms and suppliers but we do ensure that all plastic, wood and card waste is recycled at the NCGMA recycling base. We have also clearly seen a reduction in the amount of packaging we are using year on year.
We can offer to unload your order when it arrives and our drivers can bring the boxes back to our warehouse for the next order to be packed.
Charity
Brixton Soup Kitchen
We’ve partnered with Brixton Soup Kitchen (BSK) a food charity and deliver donated fresh fruits and vegetables on a weekly basis.
BSK has become a bastion of community support in the Brixton area since it was launched in 2013. BSK serve free meals twice a day as well as providing a clothing bank, a food bank, free to use computers with internet, and legal advice. The kitchen is a safe refuge for those in need as well as a place for the community and friends to gather and is staffed entirely by volunteers, including founder Solomon Smith.
BSK have been doing an incredible job throughout this difficult period, delivering roughly 200 food boxes and more than 500 prepared meals each week but they desperately need financial support to continue to help those less fortunate. Please make a donation to their Go Get Funding page if you can and help this amazing charity to continue supporting those in need.
Crisis at Christmas
Crisis is the national charity for people experiencing homelessness. “We are committed to ending homelessness. Every day we see the devastating impact homelessness has on people’s lives. Every year we work with thousands of people, to help them rebuild their lives and leave homelessness behind for good”.
In December 2021 we donated 1 tonne to their #crisisatchristmas campaign but in 2022 we were thrilled to be able to donate 3.3 tonnes which made up 80% of their total Christmas fresh produce donations. We hope to continue this flourishing partnership with this important charity.
Sanctus Homeless Charity
Sanctus is a charity supporting homeless and vulnerable people in Chelmsford and the surrounding areas. They are the only day-centre in a significant part of Essex, opening 7 days per week, 365 days per year. They provide a safe and warm environment for individuals who have nowhere else to go. They also distribute essential items such as clothes, tents, sleeping bags and toiletries. Sanctus currently supports over 400 people, with this number continually rising.
Once a week we take a fresh produce order to the very talented chefs at Sanctus so that they can continue to provide daily nutritious meals. This is alongside hot and cold drinks, snacks, sandwiches and other items from their food bank style service. In 2021, they successfully served over 15,000 free meals.
The Felix Project
The Felix Project is a food redistribution charity in London fighting food waste and hunger. They rescue surplus food from the food industry that cannot be sold and would otherwise go to waste. These collected items are then delivered to almost 1000 front-line charities, primary school and holiday programmes in London.
In 2022, the excess stock from our Covent Garden Halloween Pumpkin Market was sent to the Felix Deptford site. Since then, we have been able to send further fresh produce donations, including Christmas where the products were used to produce hot meals for those that needed it the most.