A food co-op which collects and redistributes over-produced, mislabelled and “wonky” food from supermarkets says it faces closure because of a lack of funding.
On the Havens Food Co-operative Facebook page, founder Paula Woolven said: “I must inform you with a heavy heart that we will no longer collect food donations from supermarkets after Sunday, 23 March.”
The co-op took the food for distribution to food banks, schools, families, individuals and community groups. Founded in 2020, its 50 volunteers collect more than three tonnes of food each month and help more than 60 households a day.
Woolven says the charity needs £30,000 to pay for administrative staff, rent, utility bills and petrol costs. A petition was launched by local councillor Sean Macleod, which collected more than 540 signatures appealing to Lewes District Council to allocate £30,000 to the charity.
“This decision was made solely due to a lack of future funding. Unfortunately, securing financing and accessing grants has become a perfect storm for several reasons, including the financial pressures local authorities face and government and lottery funding restructuring.“
She added: “The ending of the collections does not diminish what our community-driven project has achieved over the past five years including:
“The positive environmental impact of not landfilling perishable surplus foods from 19 supermarkets – over 150 tonnes per annum – and prevented the creation of harmful greenhouse gases.
“The sorting and rapid prioritised free redistribution of over 1.5 million pounds of still usable food since our creation.
“Supplying food 365 days a year to hundreds of individuals and families, food banks, schools, support groups (pop-up pantries), community events, and providing social navigating advice.
“Providing emergency food bags.
“The support of 50 volunteers – the heart and soul of our organisation – who make almost 5,000 collections from individual supermarkets every year.“
Woolvens added that the Havens Community Hub will continue to operate the charities Havens Happy Clubs and Havens Community Cars CIO, along with the self-funding Havens Connections Cafe at the Hillcrest Community Centre, Newhaven.
Lewes District Council told the BBC it helped the co-op secure £200,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2023.
“Our allocation from the latest round of UK Shared Prosperity Funding has been greatly reduced by the government,“ a spokesperson added. “We encourage Paula to apply and we will help her access other grants and funding streams that become available.“
