The Real Junk Food Project Opens UK's First Food Waste Supermarket | HuffPost Life

Customers will pay what they can afford for products.

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Life Editor at HuffPost UK

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The good folk at The Real Junk Food Project (TRJFP) have already revolutionised the way we view food waste through their food banks and “pay-as-you-feel” cafés.

But now they’ve taken their concept one step further, by selling food that would otherwise be destined for landfill in their very own supermarket.

The team has recently opened ‘the warehouse’ - the UK’s first supermarket fully dedicated to reducing the 10 million tonnes of food waste the UK generates each year.

The project also aims to help those struggling financially, by selling living essentials at affordable prices.

The Real Junk Food Project

The supermarket, which is located in Pudsey, near Leeds, works in the same way as the project’s cafés.

Customers pay whatever they can afford for the food on offer, which would otherwise be heading for the bin.

Chef Adam Smith, founder of TRJFP, says the supermarket was never planned.

“We were intercepting food at our central HQ in Leeds at an enormous level, that we encountered surplus food which we couldn’t stop from going to rot,” he told The Huffington Post UK.

“We then opened the warehouse up to the public and it was an instant success. We didn’t plan it, it was a consequence of operations.”

TRJFP intercepts food waste from a variety of sources - including allotments, restaurants, cafés and food photographers - who wish to donate their surplus produce.

Some of the food used by the project also comes straight from mainstream supermarkets.

Earlier this year, Ocado announced it would be giving the project food from orders that are cancelled by customers, after the food has already been picked and packed.

The Real Junk Food Porject

Previously speaking to The Huffington Post UK, Sam Joseph, one of TRJFP directors, said the team use “common sense” when selecting food to sell to the public.

“Most of the foods we serve are low-risk, otherwise we’re very careful,” he said.

“Often ‘best before’ dates are so arbitrary - who says that bang on 11:59pm some food is going to go off? In our eyes, if a vegetable is not mouldy, then it’s fine to eat.”

The new supermarket will stock all the surplus food from TRJFP’s ‘Fuel For School’ campaign, which Smith says is currently the priority for the charity.

In partnership with Richmond Hill primary school, the project uses food waste to end child hunger in school.

For now, the warehouse is the only supermarket of its kind in the UK, but Smith hopes to continue to expand TRJFP, with the ultimate aim of “feeding the world”.

Watch this space.

SEE ALSO:

Best Before? Why Changing Tiny Date Labels On Food Could Prompt A Revolution In How We Shop And Eat

We’re Throwing Away 4.2 Million Tonnes Of Avoidable Food Waste Each Year, Here’s Why

Food waste facts

We're losing money(01 of15)

Wasting edible food costs the average household £470 a year, rising to £700 a year for households with children. (credit:Zoonar RF via Getty Images)

It's not rocket science(02 of15)

Brits waste seven million tonnes of food a year, and up to 60% of that could have been eaten. We throw away good food for two main reasons: we either cook or prepare too much, or don't use it in time. (credit:fuzzbones0 via Getty Images)

But it's a LOT of food(03 of15)

The amount of that which we could have eaten or drunk is 4.2 million tonnes - enough to fill 8,400 Olympic-sized swimming pools. (credit:Veronica Garbutt via Getty Images)

Really, a lot(04 of15)

Or, if you'd like to imagine it another way, it would fill 210 Royal Albert Halls or five Wembley Stadiums. (credit:shutterstock)

We start but we don't finish(05 of15)

Of that, the majority (2 million tonnes) is food that is either unopened, or started but not finished - for example half a loaf of bread, or an unused slide of bacon. (credit:Thomas J Peterson via Getty Images)

Food waste is worse in our homes(06 of15)

While there's been lots of attention supermarkets, most food waste in the UK - 70% after food leaves farms - comes from our homes.

In comparison, supermarkets generate about 2%, while food manufacturing is responsible for 17%. The hospitality and food service industry, such as restaurants, accounts for 9%. (credit:Ridofranz via Getty Images)

Even worse than another big problem(07 of15)

Every year, people in the UK throw away more food from our homes than packaging. (credit:ShotShare via Getty Images)

The common culprits(08 of15)

The most-wasted types of food and drink that could have been used are bread, potato, milk, fizzy drinks, fruit juice and smoothies, poultry, pork, ham and bacon, cakes and pastries. (credit:SSPL via Getty Images)

Wasting good wine(09 of15)

We also throw away £270 million worth of wine form our homes each year, as well as £200 million worth of soft drinks, and £150 million worth of fruit juice and smoothies. (credit:Nicolas Wayne via Getty Images)

Nothing wrong with wonky(10 of15)

One of the biggest problems is prejudice over "wonky" fruit and veg - nearly a third of us (30%) told Sainsbury's we would throw a banana away if it has even a small bruise, wasting perfectly edible fruit. (credit:SageElyse via Getty Images)

Gaseous problem(11 of15)

Most wasted food that reaches landfill sits through our rubbish system emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than CO2, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climae Change. (credit:Louise Murray / robertharding via Getty Images)

But it's not all bad news(12 of15)

Between 2007 and 2012, the UK's avoidable food waste has reduced by 21%, over one million tonnes. That amount of food would fill 23 million wheelie bins. (credit:Emma Farrer via Getty Images)

More money for councils(13 of15)

This reduction in residual waste saved councils around £85 million from sending less food to landfill in 2012 alone. (credit:gkrphoto via Getty Images)

And less water wasted(14 of15)

Not to mention a billion litres of water that would have been used to grow and produce the food. (credit:Hemera Technologies via Getty Images)

Saving the planet(15 of15)

Stopping food waste also has a huge benefit for the planet - removing all wasted food would save 4.4 million tonnes of CO2 a year - the equivalent to taking one in four cars off the road. (credit:TomasSereda via Getty Images)

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