A CHARITY set up to stop food waste has saved a giant 27 tonnes from being sent for landfill since being set up.

Ross-on-Wye Zero Waste stall at the town’s Community Gardens in Old Gloucester Road has served 8,000 customers in the past year with discarded stock from local supermarkets.

And although it is not a food bank, with the cost of living set to go through the roof with sharp energy and other price rises, volunteers believe it has an even bigger part to play in the months to come.

Tim Shelley, who helped found the charity as part of Ross Food Hub in November 2020 at the height of lockdown, said: “A lot of people are struggling financially, and we’ve tried to make it a safe space and reduce the stigma around food banks and people needing food.

“That’s why we went for the zero waste stall image, where the main focus was to say, really we want as many people as possible to come here and to take what was thrown away.”

The stall is open every morning from Monday to Saturday, and customers are invited to take as much as they need.

Tim adds: “We are not a food bank. We make no assumptions and there is no form filling; it is done on trust, but we do monitor a little bit of what we give out.

“The Zero Waste Stall helps reduce carbon dioxide and foodstuffs going to landfill.

“Also, it makes it a softer feel when queuing up for food, because you could be next to someone who is a multi-millionaire, who is passionate about food waste, or next to someone who is really struggling financially, but you wouldn’t necessarily know that.

“So it makes it safer and reduces the stigma, and that’s worked really well.”

Volunteers have also used surplus food to make 4,000 cups of soup during the winter.

For more information, see the Zero Waste Stall Facebook page.