Update from Zero Waste Hay

What is Zero Waste Hay? It’s a very simple community project, we take unsold food from local shops and producers and we give it away. Everything is free to anyone who can use it.We set up a small stall in Hay Cheese Market every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We open at 10am, but to be honest people have started arriving early to queue, so when we open it usually only takes a few minutes for us to give everything away.

Is it safe? Yes of course! The food we give away is usually past its ‘Best Before’ date so can no longer be sold, but this is an indicator of quality rather than food safety. So an apple may not be as crisp, but may be perfect in a crumble or a loaf of bread may not be as fresh, but will make great toast. We never give away anything that it past it’s ‘Use By’ date as this would not be safe to eat.

How can I get involved? We’re on a mission to reduce food waste, so we’d love to find more sources of food and produce to give away. If you grow your own fruit and veg and have a glut we’ll gladly take any excess and share it with the community. If you run a shop or produce food please don’t let anything go to waste - contact us on zerowastehay@gmail.com