Bringing quality food at low cost and reducing waste.
Charity venture Compass Support is supporting a new Food On Our Doorstep Club being launched at Falcon Lodge Community Hub. Providing good-quality food to families at a low cost, while also reducing food waste, the FOOD Club costs just £1 a year for a family to become a member and the only criteria is that you live within a fifteen-minute walk of the centre.
Annual membership is £1, which is paid on your first visit. Once you have joined, you can purchase a bag of tasty food items every week worth around £15 for just £3.50.
The food sold at FOOD Club is supermarket surplus, and while no two weeks may be the same, the shop includes a wide range of 
foods such as bread products, dairy, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and a range pantry staples.
The FOOD Club initiative is delivered by Family Action, a national charity. Project partner and food supplier, Fareshare, provides surplus stock from the major supermarkets whereby Family Action then take it to their FOOD Clubs to sell it to community members, preventing food insecurity and minimising food waste.
The Neighbourhood Network Scheme in Sutton Coldfield also provided funding to have this project delivered locally for Falcon Lodge residents.
Liz Allsop, Falcon Lodge Community Hub Centre Manager, says: “As we come out of lockdown, we recognise that it’s still difficult to feed a family, so through our club we can help with affordable food and managing home budgets better.”
“No family should go hungry, especially as 3.6 million tonnes of food is wasted by the food industry every year in the UK. Over 2 million tonnes of the food that goes to waste each year is still edible which is why the FOOD Club initiative not only helps communities, but our environmental impact.
“We already work with Foodcycle to offer meals on Mondays and guests also receive a bag of surplus food. In 2019 we ran the Healthy Happy Holidays summer scheme – a city-wide initiative to support the delivery of free food and activities for children and young people; coupled with this new initiative, our partnerships further demonstrates the drive we have to feed our community.”
Hyacinth Austin, Birmingham FOOD Club Co-ordinator says: “We are delighted to bring FOOD Club to the community of Falcon Lodge, offering a great range of food items to help your food budget go further, and with the added bonus of saving food from landfill.
The Club will run from 11am–1pm on Tuesdays and 1pm–3pm Fridays. Don’t forget to bring your shopping bags!
