How waste food helps families through the week
The scheme runs in schools across the West Midlands, including Birmingham and Walsall.
How surplus food supports families through the week
Families gather for a weekly community meal where excess supermarket food is transformed into free dinners and grocery bags to take home.
Food that supermarkets would otherwise discard is helping to feed hundreds of families and schoolchildren through a community meal scheme.
Charity FoodCycle said its programme turns surplus supermarket produce into free meals and groceries for families, helping to reduce waste while easing household costs.
One of the schools involved is Ark Tindal Academy in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, where families attend a weekly community meal and children join activities before dinner is served.
Families receive a free vegetarian meal, along with groceries to take home.
"It's a free meal in the week, and then they get a bag of groceries to take home with them, which some parents have said has been really helpful," said FoodCycle's Sophie Aoun.
She said the meals were also intended to introduce children to a broader range of fruit and vegetables.
Volunteers use surplus supermarket produce to make meals and cut food waste
Teacher Amy Henderson, from the academy, said the scheme had helped relieve pressure on families dealing with rising household bills.
"With the cost of living, we know how expensive things are today, and it really does take pressure off the families," she said.
"It's really heart-warming to know that they have had a good meal."
Henderson said the sessions also helped parents, children, school staff and volunteers build relationships.
"It's a really lovely social event," she added.
FoodCycle collects surplus produce from supermarkets and uses it to prepare meals and provide groceries for families.
The initiative operates at schools across the West Midlands including Windsor Olympic Academy in Birmingham and Goldsmiths Primary Academy in Walsall.
"Our hope is that by turning surplus food into these free community meals we're doing more than just filling plates for an evening," Aoun said.