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New partnership in Bury St Edmunds aims to cut down on waste and fill your shopping bag for £1




A new community partnership aims to reduce food waste and fill your shopping bag for £1.

The Best Before Project has now teamed up with Bury St Edmunds market traders and Bury Rickshaw.

From Wednesday, some of the traders on the market will be donating left over fruit, vegetables and bread to The Best Before Project.

The Best Before Project Shop in Elsey’s Yard, off Risbygate Street, aims to educate people about the difference in meaning between the ‘best before’ and the ‘use by’ labels on food and drinks.

The food will be collected and transported at the end of every Wednesday market by the charity Bury St Edmunds Rickshaw where it will be sold at low cost by the not-for-profit organisation and a ‘good size’ shopping bag can be filled for £1.

Roz Scott, from the Best Before Project, said: “The average family throws away around £700 of food each year. It is just mad, and a lot of it is simply down to people not understanding food labels.”

Sam Reid, Co-Chair of Bury St Edmunds Rickshaw, said: “We have been collecting surplus food for the Best Before Project since last winter and we’re delighted to do our bit to help prevent food waste. We’re looking forward to working with market traders.”

Traders and West Suffolk Council, which runs the market, have been looking for ways to reduce food waste and came up with the idea.

Cllr John Griffiths, leader of West Suffolk Council, said: “West Suffolk council has been involved in helping both of these fantastic organisations to get established including through local councillors support from their locality budgets.

"The fact that they are now working together to help us and the market reduce food waste and also save families money, is brilliant news for us all.”

"By working with the council, the market traders and Bury St Edmunds Rickshaw, we will be able to ensure that much of the fruit, vegetables, bread and other food items that might of otherwise been thrown away, can instead be sold at low cost to the local community through our shop saving people money and supporting some of the most vulnerable in our society.

"This is brilliant news for us all.”

The Best Before Project Shop is open Tuesday from 10am to midday, Thursdays from 2.30pm to 4.30pm and Fridays from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

For the first time it will be open from this Saturday from 10am to midday and every Saturday after.

For more on the Best Before Project see its Facebook page at or visit www.bestbeforebse.co.uk

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