Community larders saved whopping 18.5 tonnes of food waste during last year’s festive period
Two community larders in Northamptonshire, which recently celebrated half-a-decade of distributing surplus food at a discount cost, made a massive impact during the festive period.
The South Northants Volunteer Bureau (snvb) larders differ from food banks and are described as social supermarkets. Where a food bank is designed specifically for members of the community in need and experiencing food poverty, a larder is open to all regardless of need.
Whether you are someone who wants to save money on their food shop, save food from waste, or use the opportunity to come and meet new people, the membership is open to anyone.
The Towcester and Roade Community Larders purchase surplus food from an organisation called SOFEA, which is a partner of FareShare. They rescue food surplus from the national supply chain to ensure it does not go to waste. Donations are also made by businesses.
The larders have a wide variety of items on offer, including chilled and frozen food, fruit and vegetables, toiletries, pet food and store cupboard basics.
In order to afford the food needed for all members of the larder, there is a charge and different membership tiers are available after paying an annual joining fee.
Depending on the membership tier, you get a certain amount of points to utilise at each weekly session, or attendees can pay as they go.
The Towcester larder is held at Riverside Centre in Islington Road and the Roade larder is held at Roade Village Hall.
Coordinator Katie Steele spoke to the Chronicle & Echo in November 2025 to celebrate five years since the initiative was introduced to the county.
She said it has been a “massive journey”, having expanded from a handful of volunteers to more than 100 and an increase from 30 to 400 weekly shoppers.
“We’ve gone from giving away half a tonne of food to five tonnes every week,” said Katie. “We’ve had to significantly increase our fridge and freezer capacity, support from volunteers, and we now operate for six days a week. We are open to the public for three of them.”
One of the biggest benefits of the service is the free fruit and vegetables available to all, as the team do not want people to have to choose between this and other food options for their families.
The latest success they want to shout about is that the Towcester and Roade larders saved more than a whopping 18.5 tonnes of food from going to waste over the two-week festive period.
With nearly 200 people who attended the Christmas Eve pop-up event, they ended 2025 with a roaring success and wanted to share this good news to kickstart the new year.