Community larder - would you use one

We have one but it’s nothing like a food bank and is absolutely designed to reduce food waste. Most of the fresh produce is allocated for local projects , who are given daily crates of fruit/ veg/ bread. Then what’s left over is sold, but it is a wild and wonderful array of stuff and it’s very rare indeed that’s it’s stuff that would be useful to somebody struggling in an emergency.
Things like giant catering tins of fancy sauce, or obscure Eastern European imports with no translation. More like store cupboard items that are a real gamble. Apart from the free bread, I think you’d be hard pressed to find anything substantial or simple to eat if you were simply hungry that day.
I use it a lot for my big family, as I have space to freeze crates of fruit that’s on the turn etc. But that’s how it’s sold.. By the crate or massive quantity generally.

I’m a lecturer and we have (a very small) one on campus. It’s mainly things that people bring in from greenhouses or allotments, but also surplus items from the kitchens, Costa coffee shop etc which are best before that day’s date, plus odd bits like lever arch folders offices are clearing out.

If I am leaving the building and there are eg a load of carrots sitting at the back of 5, yes, I will take a bag and make them into soup. I wouldn’t pick up a panini at 2pm because I’d assume a hungry student would eat that up.

I wouldn’t use one right now because so many people are really struggling I assume they need to be prioritised.

But I guess if you go right at the end of the day, and stuff will otherwise be chucked, then fair enough

I would if there was one conveniently located to me. I hate food waste (and I'm not rich) and would happily pick up something if passing. I also make liberal use of reduced sections in the supermarket for the same reasons.

I've used once before for food for youth groups and feel OK doing that because I have no idea when some of the kids I work with have last eaten when they come in but our budget is tiny and I don't want to have to charge them.

I probably wouldn't use one personally unless I actually financially needed to because I'd worry I was taking what might be needed by others, but equally i think if more people used them, it would take away the stigma and might make it easier for people to access them when they need them instead of feeling like it's something to be embarrassed about.

I use our local one with the sole purpose of reducing food waste, and that's how it's been explained to me. Everything is perishable - there's no option for long-life stuff, and you generally need to eat it that same day. I treat it as a bit of a challenge to see what I can make (there were bags and bags of parsnips at Easter, which made great soup!).

Ours is combined with other eco initiatives (library of things, fill your own containers for soap and washing powder etc.) so I think it is genuinely an eco thing. And therefore I don't feel the need to apologise - yes, I could pay for the things I take, but if I didn't take them, they'd generally be heading for the bin...

Your post says it's not a food bank and the purposes of these places are to stop good food going to waste.
So yes on that basis I would use it.

We don't have anything like that around us anyway

I volunteer with one, and its purpose is to reduce waste and prevent perfectly good surplus food going to landfill. We have a large amount of fresh food coming in every day, and there is plenty for all, whether in need, or just eco-minded. I think there are people in need who come to us who wouldn't go to a food bank, because there is no stigma to visiting us. The people in charge of the project are aware of some visitors who need extra help, and they find ways of offering them a quantity above our standard limit, or keeping the more nutritious protein or dairy items back for them.

I can afford my grocery shopping, but like any other visitor to the project, I will take some items home, too. It's tragic to see how much fruit and veg would otherwise end up in landfill.

It's not a food bank, the sole purpose is to reduce food waste.

I tend to go towards the end of the sessions. People needing food have had plenty of time to take what they want, and what's left may well get wasted.

Win - win: less food is wasted, and I get free(ish) food.

I don't think it's morally wrong to go at the beginning though, whatever one's financial situation.

I don't but I do use the community orchards we have locally. They have plenty of produce and so much of it goes to waste, I have no qualms using those.

Hell no. It's not a charity shop that might have some cute vintage outfit. It's a bloody food bank.

Stop going there.

Correction - start going there. With food. To make up for your disgraceful past greed.

If reducing food waste is the sole aim of some of these larders, I don’t get it.

If the supermarkets were serious about cutting food waste, they could improve their forecasting to prevent it, and discount short dated food earlier in the day to ensure it sells. Or even give it away to their customers in the half hour before closing. That has to be better for the environment than volunteers driving the food to a different location.

OP and anyone else interested - this is an interesting bit of recent research which touches on why people use local community pantries/larders/etc. (Which I was involved in <polishes halo>) In general Feeding Britain is interesting on anything to do with food waste, poverty and distribution in the UK.

feedingbritain.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/FINAL-Feeding-Community-Report.pdf

There are a few locally. I haven’t used them have given to them as an Olio rep when we have far to much stuff and run out of people asking. Always far too many breads and bananas.

They are open to everyone larders then there are the pay a fee weekly ones and the just food bank referral ones quite well separated.

The food was never really there long enough to need refrigerated, it was all collected fairly quickly but I do understand your point.

To be fair, if food required refrigeration, and they weren't refrigerating it, then it's a serious health risk.

It's not a food bank... It's to stop food waste. My wife volunteers at one. They go around the supermarkets get food that has or is about to go out of date and give it away to anyone.

So yes.

I support our local community larder. It’s for everyone no questions asked. Everyone pays £5 and then gets to choose any 10 items (it may be 15 items).

Our larder is to reduce waste, and to make low cost shopping a dignified option.

I haven’t used it as too far away. If I was nearby I might.

I had the same dilemma as there is one near me. I messaged to explain that I didn't need to for financial reasons, although it would help, and asked their advice and they were very much of the view that it is to reduce food waste.

Obviously people in need can still get it, they just need to get there early on in the day to ensure it's not all gone. My local one has just been shut down as it they didn't have fridges and some asshole reported them to environmental health!

Our Lidl doesn't do those. They did a few years back when it first started and I got a couple. It was annoying that they sat them after the till, so you either paid and didn't know what was there or had to select and go back through.

I think I would if I saw one. I’m currently using windfalls from next door (nobody living there atm) and picking wild fruit to eat, freezing what I don’t use immediately.

I do when I can get there. Also get the 1:50 Lidl boxes. And I’m not embarrassed at all to use them

Is it The Company Shop?

Several of you can only speak for your sspecific location.