AN ABERYSTWYTH project which takes waste food off supermarkets and redistributes it to charities in the town is asking for help to set up a ‘pay-as-you-feel’ café.

Aber Food Surplus already distributes to 10 charities and organisations in Aberystwyth, but say they collect so much surplus food from supermarkets, including Morrisons, Tesco and Booker, that around half of it goes to waste anyway.

Speaking to the Cambrian News, Heather McClure and Chris Woodfield of AFS said they are seeking an empty property in Aberystwyth where they can sort the vast amount of food they collect in order to be able to redistribute it more efficiently.

“The idea is to stop food being wasted by redistributing it to people who need it, and to raise awareness of food waste and the environmental issues with food,” explained Heather, a former Aberystwyth student who works in Taste Café, Terrace Road.

““It has got to the point where actually this needs a lot more support because there is so much food being wasted. The main problem we have is that we don’t have enough outlets for the food — we serve 10 charities but more than half of the food we collect is still going to waste.”

And Heather and Chris say they also have bigger plans for the project beyond finding a food sorting centre.

AFS, which relies on the charity of local businesses, including Taste Café, in order to hold pop-up community cafes, would also like a property where they can operate a ‘pay-as-you-feel’ cafe where surplus food from supermarkets will be cooked into meals and people only pay as much as they can afford.

If you think you can help AFS find a place to sort food, or for their ‘pay-as-you-feel’ café, email [email protected].

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