School dinners: Children to eat surplus food as part of Yorkshire entrepreneur’s dream to end food waste

Food which would have otherwise ended up in the bin will now be on the menu in a “first collaboration of its kind,” explained Adam Smith who has been plotting the initiative since 2021 when he set up Surplus to Purpose - an environmental enterprise which specialise in the interception of surplus food destined for waste.

Social entrepreneur Adam - who formerly founded The Real Junk Food Project - said himself and school caterer Frank Bothwell FRSA had this shared “dream” when they first met.

He said: “Now it’s happened.

“Let’s feed kids and stop hunger, whilst having a positive effect on the environment by using surplus food.”

For the whole academic year of 2022/23, with their partners they will be diverting nearly 16 tons of surplus food into the bellies of children.

“We will be providing nutritionally dense, quality meals made from waste”, said Adam, who is based in Scarborough with his social enterprise’s HQ in Leeds .

The first school to experience this is Heald Place Primary school in Manchester.

Not only is it believed to be the first initiative of its kind but it's also Thomas Franks Ltd’s first state school as they normally cater for private schools.

Adam said: “As a Yorkshireman myself, I’d love nothing more than to be feeding children locally, and if this school in Manchester is successful, that will be our next step.

He has dozens of schools lined up nationally to start receiving food through this collaboration.

Adam, aka The Real Junk Food Chef, said: “Our aim is to expand this model into every school nationwide as quickly as possible, feeding thousands of children and stopping so much food from being wasted.”

Feeding bellies not bins

Surplus to Purpose delivered the food, which is either past its best before, has suffered accidental damage or it has been deemed to be surplus to requirements, to the school on Friday (September 2) ready for the new academic year.