The rising popularity of surplus supermarkets
Company Shop is an award-winning social enterprise, which sells surplus food in its own supermarkets, and deeply discounted prices. There are presently 14 branches:
- Athersley
- Beechwood
- Bewsey (Warrington)
- Eastfield (Scarborough)
- Goldthorpe
- Grimsby
- Halton
- Hoyland
- Kirkdale
- Knottingley
- Lambeth
- Stocking Farm (Leicester)
- Swarcliffe (Leeds)
- Tong Street (Bradford)
Affordable membership groceries
Your Local Pantry is a small membership supermarket (sign up, then choose at least 10 fresh, chilled and frozen food items, to save around £21 per week).
There are now 120 outlets nationwide (you can set one up, if there are none near you, running from churches, schools, community centres etc).
Member communities get a pantry handbook and documents, and access to marketing posters and bespoke software, to keep records of finances and volunteer training. Already there are over 44,000 members. Find a list of present locations (there are particular clusters in Merseyside, Manchester, Kent, London, the West Midlands, Reading and Portsmouth).
Community Grocery is another member grocery that redistributes surplus food, and keeps over 65,000 local families well-fed. With nationwide branches, it has so far saved over 5000 tonnes of food from going to waste.
Again you sign up (around £5) then shop several times a week to buy fresh fruit and veg, and grocery items. Anyone on low income is welcome to shop once daily (no proof of income required, it relies on honesty, and not taking advantage of others who need help).
This was set up after lockdown, when a local church that was delivering 60,000 meals to families in Manchester, found that people still needed help, when the pandemic ended.
Support The Food Waste Inspector’s Petition
Food Waste Inspector posts photos online of good food that has been thrown out (he’s a bit of a ‘green guerilla’, taking his camera behind the scenes, when the supermarkets close).
His investigations led some major supermarkets in January 2026 to launch major investigations, after he posted photos of perfectly edible food being thrown in the bin (not even having been reduced in price).
All in a country where supermarkets make mass profits, and yet many people (especially children and older people) go hungry. The photos and videos included:
- Strawberries, potatoes and sausages being thrown out (in date)
- Cans of tuna being thrown out (not expiring until 2030).
- Bakery items and sliced meats (and whole chickens) being thrown, before expiry date.
His site and petition is now supported by tens of thousands of people, as he argues that this food should be donated to food banks:
Every day, countless individuals and families across our nation find themselves struggling to make ends meet. Bills pile up, and many are forced to make heart-wrenching choices, between paying for utilities or putting food on the table. Food Waste Inspector
True Food Co-op (a low-cost zero waste grocery)
Despite its ‘posh image’, obviously some people in Berkshire struggle financially. A great idea here is True Food Co-op, an ethically-run zero waste supermarket, where members pay a one-off £5 fee for exclusive discounts (volunteers also earn up to 15% discount off food).
The shop has a zero-waste refill station, organic alcohol and orange stickers for value basics, to help people on tight budgets. These are not ‘cheap inferior products’ but organic foods that still work out cheaper than the same brands in major supermarkets.
As members have shares in the shop, you can order in anything you like (if it comes in a pack, they’ll sell the rest in the shop).
