Making life more affordable.

Join your local Bread and Butter Thing food club, for regular access to affordable and nutritious food, and so much more.

Become a Member

We support thousands of families each week in over 155 community locations. Signing up is quick, easy, and free!

79%

of members say they now
eat more fruit and veg

Colorful assorted fruits and vegetables including pineapples, bananas, apples, grapes, strawberries, tomatoes, carrots, and bell peppers on a white plate.
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Find out more
Cartoon man with a beard and mustache, wearing a gray cap, yellow safety vest over blue shirt, blue pants, and black shoes, holding a large tray of groceries including apples, bananas, lettuce, instant noodles, and cereal.
A woman smiling and holding a small watermelon at a market or grocery store, with green crates and a brick wall in the background.

Surplus food is good food

Our award-winning project is created using high quality surplus food that would otherwise go to waste. Surplus happens for all kinds of reasons.

What is food surplus?
Two women shopping for fruit at a produce stand, with watermelons, oranges, and apples displayed.

Volunteers

Volunteers are at the heart of our operation. Every week, over 1000 volunteers work with us at our warehouse depots and in our community hubs.

Get involved
Three cartoon characters sitting at a table with symbols on their tables representing charity, finance, and housing.

Partnerships

We regularly redistribute over 100 tonnes of food a week. That’s almost 250,000 meals. But it’s not just about the food. We work in collaboration with local and national partners to bring in other expertise offering advice and practical solutions for dealing with debt, managing utilities, accessing mental health support, help with housing, employment opportunities and more.

Learn more

  • “In April, my husband ended up out of work so obviously we’ve been short of cash. The Bread and Butter Thing has been absolutely fantastic. At the supermarket, it would cost us £130 for the week for all five of us and that’s doing it on a budget. I come here and we get five or six bags for £15 of shopping and we only have to go and get a couple of extra bits then. It’s cut our shopping bill to less than half.”

    Sholver Hub Member, Oldham

  • “I love trying new foods and can now meal plan again.”

    Latchford Hub member

  • “Every week I come and its made a massive difference. Usually I could spend over £100 on shopping just for three people and now I might spend around £30 in a week, and the meals wouldn't be half as healthy as they are. It's not only that, you get to try different things like avocados, which I’ve never had before, and mangoes – different things that you wouldn't generally buy because they are expensive.”

    Sholver Hub Member, Oldham

  • “The money I save here means I can afford to switch my heating on, and that’s the difference it makes.”

    Margaret, Tameside

  • “Part of my job is to give patients the options available around the wider determinants to their health and we should all have access to food that provides a healthy and diverse diet for our physical and mental wellbeing. I first found out about TBBT through a friend and went along to experience it for myself. It’s absolutely phenomenal and a much needed service throughout the area. I especially love that nobody is excluded from gaining access to this service – it’s not means tested and it’s really simple to join.”

    Emma Spencer, Social Prescribing Link Worker, NHS

  • “The bags were amazing. I ended up with so many meals and treats – we even tried new things that we loved as a family.”

    Latchford Hub member

  • "The Bread and Butter Thing has been a brilliant thing for our community. When our first hub location closed, we were determined to keep TBBT here as we were getting so many requests for help. So we formed a special group to manage it out of Westy Community Centre and we’re so pleased we did. The demand for food support locally just keeps growing and TBBT is making a big difference. We’ve hosted a Warm Hub too and it’s been lovely having members come early for a chat and the chance to meet and make friends. There’s a great sense of the community coming together each week."

    Naomi Wright, Hub Leader, Westy Community Centre

News

The latest updates from The Bread and Butter Thing.

Featured
GMCA phones distributed by The Bread and Butter Thing to help tackle digital exclusion
GMCA phones distributed by The Bread and Butter Thing to help tackle digital exclusion

The Bread and Butter Thing has worked with Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Hubbub to help tackle digital exclusion in communities across Greater Manchester.

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The Story Behind TBBT’s Social Impact
The Story Behind TBBT’s Social Impact

We are pleased to share The Bread and Butter Thing’s 2026 Social Value Report, which provides an independent assessment of the difference our work is making in communities across England.

At TBBT, we have always believed that affordable food is about far more than what is on the table.

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The National Endeavour to End Avoidable Food Waste
The National Endeavour to End Avoidable Food Waste

The Bread and Butter Thing is proud to be part of the National Endeavour to End Avoidable Food Waste, a major new collaborative effort bringing together government, business, charities, philanthropy and the wider food industry behind a shared ambition to reduce food waste and strengthen communities.

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Latest from the podcast

‘A Slice of Bread and Butter’ tells the stories of the people that make Bread and Butter what it is and about life in our communities.

Featured
How A Gateshead Food Hub Builds Belonging
How A Gateshead Food Hub Builds Belonging

We’re in Gateshead with Vicki, who brings years of childcare and family support into the heart of the Deckham Family Hub in Carhill. She shares how Bread and Butter has grown from a quiet pick-up into a genuinely welcoming community space, with parent carer volunteers driving the atmosphere and shaping what the hub becomes. We talk about the “Family Voice” approach, how confidence grows when people are trusted with real responsibility, and why the mix of parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and first-time volunteers matters. 

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From Nursing Degree To Fostering And Food Support
From Nursing Degree To Fostering And Food Support

Three jobs alongside a full-time nursing degree sounds intense enough, but Michaela’s life keeps stacking up: a menagerie of pets, a move to a new area, and now becoming newly approved foster carers with their first placement. We talk about what it really takes to keep going when you’re doing the “right” things, yet the money still doesn’t work and you find yourself living week to week.

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Surplus Food With A Side Of Banter
Surplus Food With A Side Of Banter

Bags so heavy people bring trolleys. And a volunteer team laughing so much they come home with aching faces. That’s the reality behind this chat with Geoff, a former military medic and civil servant who’s found a second family through The Bread and Butter Thing. 

We talk about Geoffs years in the military, travelling with different regiments, and what it’s like to step into a new routine after service and retirement. From there, the story turns local. 

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