A social non-profit enterprise that aims to end food waste in Sheffield is introducing their first pop-up market this month.
Food Works Sheffield has planned the first market to take place in Stradbroke on the 20 February.
Dan Pilles, 42, food supply coordinator for Food Works Sheffield said: ”We want to create a hyper-local sustainable food system where nothing goes to waste and all the food is shared fairly with anybody who supports us.”
Mr Pilles wants to create a market and opportunities for people to share their food in different parts of the city.
He said: “We want to have lots of pop-up markets in the city and all of our markets will operate on the same, on a pay what you can afford basis, with a minimum contribution of one pound per section at the shop.”
Food Works as an organisation has been around for 8 years at different locations and are quite well known in Sheffield.
They collect food from areas in Sheffield and occasionally Doncaster and Barnsley.
Mr Pilles said: “We collect from lots of different grocery stores and we also like to collect from Farmers wholesalers and producers.
“We like to collect the food as long as it is usable and in date, then we will say yes, we will collect it and we will find a home for it so that it’s not going to the bin.”
Mr Pilles said that if the pop-up markets are successful then they aim to make it a weekly event and their long term goal is to have six or seven markets that work on a rotary basis.
The money that Food Works Sheffield has been funded with has enabled them to hire new staff and increase their cooking capacity in their kitchens. Through donations, the amount of food they have received has also increased.
Mr Pilles said: “My heart lies with the environment and sustainability and I wanted to take that passion and apply it more directly to this industry of sustainability.
“Fortunately I got a job here and I couldn’t be happier because we’ve got a great team with a great mission and everybody’s on board with what we’re trying to achieve.”
