With charity The Bread and Butter Thing, CEO Mark Game is helping struggling communities afford nutritious food
SAINSBURYSMAGAZINE.CO.UK/LIFESTYLE
M ark Game understands the importance of bringing people together, and the role that food can play. ‘I was born on a council estate in Preston,’ he says. ‘I remember as a kid we used to get the greengrocer van and the bread van come around. Everybody used to come out, and there’d be a real buzz. There was a real sense of community in that space.’
He’s creating a similar space with The Bread and Butter Thing, a UK charity co-founded with his partner Jane that distributes surplus food for a cut price in areas where people are struggling to afford and access nutritious items. Started in 2016, it partners with community projects in areas of need to run food clubs once a week, offering three bags of food – one of fruit and veg, one of storecupboard goods, and one of chilled food – for £8.50. ‘People tell us they save about £25 when they do that,’ says Mark. ‘And the majority tell us they’re cooking better at home and they’re eating better at home.’
The excess food comes from supermarket chains, explains Mark, who has 20 years of experience working with surplus food. It could be due to products with a short life span, mislabelling, overproduction or, most often, forecasting errors. The food is currently distributed with the help of volunteers across 85 hubs, which could be a church, food bank, community centre or school. ‘The volunteers are typically from the communities that we serve,’ says Mark. ‘There are about 600 every week. They stun me every day. They see that this can help build their communities.’ While there are plans to spread across the UK, at present the charity works in the north of England and East Midlands. It has over 45,000 members registered to the scheme and helps around 5,500 families a week, although they are heavily oversubscribed. ‘Our communities tend to be areas that Theresa May described as the “jams”, the just about managing,’ says Mark. ‘They’re stressed, they’re
