Shrewsbury Food Hub urges people to use its surplus veg

A charity that collects surplus food from shops and farms and shares it out, has urged people to help themselves to vegetables after being inundated with them.

Ali Thomas, from Shrewsbury Food Hub, revealed the group gathered about four tonnes, or 400 trays of food, on Christmas Eve alone from supermarkets and wholesalers.

“We have been completely inundated with vegetables,” she said.

The charity distributes to places such as domestic abuse safe houses, foodbanks and hospices, but everyone is invited to collect produce for themselves or their friends and neighbours with collection points open on Friday.

Supermarkets had overstocked because they did not want to run out, she said.

“All of that needs to be used up, so we want to put a massive callout to everybody to come to a food share or come to the depot and come and pick up vegetables to use for yourselves, for your friends, for your neighbours.”

The foodshare timetable, with locations and times, can be found on the charity’s Facebook page.

There will be seven foodshares on Friday. People should take a bag and make a donation if they can, but Ms Thomas said it was not essential.