Melksham Community Larder tries to tackle food waste

A community project is redistributing fresh food in an effort to reduce waste.

Melksham's Community Larder is involved in a mission by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust to limit the amount of food people throw away.

It's urging people to take part in its Waste Free February challenge.

Adrienne Westbrook, a volunteer at the community larder, said: "I hate throwing out food when people are hungry."

The aim of the challenge, which is now in its sixth year, is to get people to look at the rubbish they're producing and limit it by reusing, recycling and composting more.

The Trust says its challenge saw more than 400 people save six tonnes of rubbish last year.

Jessica Thimbleby, Carbon Reduction Champion at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, said: "There's 218,000 tonnes of rubbish in Wiltshire goes to waste each year.

"By all of us making small changes and not throwing food away, for example, we can help reduce that and make a difference.

"All that food is just being thrown away, which is why projects like this are fantastic.

"It's helping people access free food, there's no charge, it's stopping that food from going to waste."

The Trust has teamed up with Melksham Community Larder, which aims to save fresh food that can no longer be sold and make it available for locals to collect.

It's run by 10 volunteers out of the Roundhouse in Melksham.

Adrienne Westbrook said: "I hate the thought of anybody not being able to buy the food they need for their children and the food they need for themselves.

"One of the frustrations I have is supermarkets that send their excess food out of a town when it could be used by volunteers to help solve the food poverty issue."

Kody, an ambassador for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, added: "Waste on its own has a massive environmental footprint.

"But I think a lot of people don't appreciate that when it leaves your hands it continues its environmental footprint.

"So when that goes to landfill it's going to degrade, that's going to produce harmful gasses.

"I also think this month's important in that by choosing more sustainable products you're sending a message to businesses."