Students from the University of Nottingham have been stepping up to the challenge of increased demand for support since the outbreak of COVID-19. Since opening in 2017, Foodprint have diverted over 19 tonnes of food from landfill, preventing the release of almost 80 tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere and supporting an average of nearly 750 people every week. However, the demand has swelled since lockdown began.
Foodprint is a social enterprise which aims to tackle the imbalance of people going hungry or without nutritious food in Nottingham, and food waste. They receive food that would otherwise go to landfill from supermarkets and redistribute it to a number of charities and projects across Nottingham, such as community-eating cafes, food banks, and school breakfast clubs.
As a result of COVID-19, not only has the social supermarket and redistribution network had to adapt their operations, but they have also increased partnerships with more charities and organisations across Nottinghamshire; helping reach more vulnerable people. This includes redistributing food to local retirement villages and sheltered accommodation, to city schools who are helping create food parcels for children in receipt of free school meals.
Foodprint was started by University of Nottingham students and is entirely volunteer-run. They are also supported by Enactus Nottingham, a not-for-profit student entrepreneurial organisation based at the Nottingham University Business School.
You can learn more about their excellent efforts to support the community here or contact them regarding volunteering here.
“Foodprint have supported children and families at our primary school to be able to access stable and needed food during the time of this pandemic. The help and support they have given us on a weekly basis have ensured that we have been able to give food to the most vulnerable in our community. They have been so helpful, and they really are a hidden diamond within the local Sneinton area.”