Food banks, community larders and payment

What would the income be used for?

I do not think there should be a charge as the food is donated and although it is more about stopping waste it will also be used by people that have nothing.

I agree with exwife

Maybe a voluntary payment of £2

Tricky. I think that quite often things like this need to have a declared purpose, so that everyone knows what they are for. Having a secondary aim can muddy waters.

IMO you (and the rest of the members) need to decide if the primary purpose is to save on waste or alleviate poverty, although obviously it will do both in many ways.

How about a 'pay what you can' scheme? So long as it is anonymous, so the usual suspects don't come in and flash a £20 note and those who are most in need are embarrassed ash the £2 they can afford?

A lot also depends on the sort of community it is - if it is a small country village with a mix of residents you can probably do more on trust, whereas in a larger one, or if you will get 'incomers' from nearby towns, you might have to put a limit on the number of items that can be taken at a time/per week.

If you charge, identify publicly specifically what the scheme will spend the income on. Relying on donations will mean you regularly have shortfalls of high need items, so you could buy those in with the profits. I don’t think a small charge of £1 will put even the poorest off using the service, but you could make an exception, without advertising, if necessary.

Income would be used to meet overheads - room hire, electricity etc.

don't charge.
voluntary donations only.

Alternatively, a membership scheme of £X a week/month that allows members to take so much at a time.

Will there be a ready supply of goods, or will there be more at some times than others? That might make a difference to how much you can control who takes what, if you are to avoid having a glut of things you can't get rid of.

I wouldn’t charge. The food is being donated. If you’re taking money you may depend someone will try to cause trouble by claiming you’re trading/need charitable status/should publish accounts. There’s one everywhere. Limit the amount each person can take and limit it to residents of your village by all means, but as soon as you start taking money it can get complicated.

www.sofea.uk.com/purpose-projects/community-larder/

This is how Sofea works which might help you.

Katek

Income would be used to meet overheads - room hire, electricity etc.

You should be able to negotiate free room hire for this, most village halls etc. won’t charge, but paying for electricity and cleaning is appropriate.

If you’re using the village hall for such a useful purpose I would expect it to be given free of charge provided you leave it clean and tidy,

I use a scheme like this most weeks and I've posted some of the food I've had in the "Food" section of GN.

The scheme is free and even includes a cup of tea or coffee, if people want to stay for a chat. I've offered to pay a donation in the past, but it's been refused.

I know the scheme receives some support from the local council. It takes place in the local baptist church, so I assume there's no charge for room hire. I assume funding is used for volunteers' expenses, such as fuel to collect the food.

We're allowed to take one bag and can't touch the food ourselves for health and safety reasons, but also so that people don't take loads. The volunteers hand out all the food. We can queue up again and go round a second time, if we want.

I wouldn't mind paying a small amount, but I think it might ruin the friendly atmosphere. Obviously, I use the scheme to save money, but the regulars are quite a mixed bunch. It's always being stressed it's to stop food going to landfill rather than being a foodbank for the poor.

With food donated free, you've a fairly clean sheet at the moment, as regards potential problems. In my experience, the moment you introduce money into an equation, the more troublesome it becomes. I see that you're considering using any donations to cover overheads such as room hire, electricity etc., but a cleaner solution might be to look for a sponsor or sponsors, who would not only keep you out of the loop, but may also be able to claim their costs against tax, in particular if you look at obtaining charitable status. Whatever you decide, good luck with this worthy project.

Incidentally, I don't think it's necessary to have a ready supply of high need items. I don't think anybody relies on it to supply all their food needs.

Sometimes, there are loads of boxes of carrots, mushrooms, parsnips or spring greens (for example). I take whatever is available and the look for recipes to use what I have - and I've always managed to find some use for everything I've taken.

I wouldn't charge but I would limit the number of things at each visit maybe even the number of visits per week. Do you need to state what day your supplies will come in?
I would also put a tin out for voluntary contributions towards heating and refrigeration?
One more thought how are you planning to restrict it to your own villagers?
I ask because having lived in a village where a coffee morning was held with a voluntary contribution for the next week's tea and biscuits. The surplus was used for a Christmas buffet and was certainly abused by people from other villages who we never saw except at the Christmas buffet.
A lovely idea and how kind of you all to set it up.

There are a few community larder/fridge type schemes in my area and some don't charge at all, whereas I know there are a couple which charge a nominal fee to join, and that then entitles you to a certain number of items per week. Some also restrict membership to people living in particular postcode areas.

I think the one here is free but I'm not sure how they are funded as I think they were allowed premises rent-free but have to pay for electricity for fridges etc.
One organiser said there have been times when she's had so much surplus bread from supermarkets she has just been giving it away to passersby.
Can you find out how other schemes are run?

My daughter uses a similar scheme to growstuff but it’s £5, this covers food being collected, refrigeration if necessary and a degree of admin. You register online the day before that you’ll be collecting, the food would otherwise be dumped and is principally from Waitrose and M&S.
If your overheads are covered somehow Katek I wouldn’t charge.

The information on ours says it is supported by the County Council but whether that is funding or allowing them to use premises free of charge, I don't know.

They also hold quiz and other social events to raise money. They give talks to local groups to raise awareness and I think charge a small fee which goes into funds.

It's always being stressed it's to stop food going to landfill rather than being a foodbank for the poor

The same here.
The speaker urged us to use it as otherwise food goes to waste and they have to pay to get rid of it!

As has been said, the unknown variable is both what is donated and in what quantities. Speaking as a foodbank volunteer who has regularly collected surplus from supermarkets a problem you may have is food with a very short shelf life. Bread, fruit and vegetables are at the end of their shop shelf life and giving it away quickly enough may be your biggest challenge. Good luck with the venture.

We have a community larder in our smallish town.
No charge , put in any extras you have or take something if you can use it.
I certainly don’t think there should be a set charge as you might only be able to use 1 banana or a couple of carrots.

Oops , posted too soon
By all means make a donation towards costs if you are able but the real idea is to stop so much food wastage.