Surplus Food Can Change A School Community

£8.50 for three bags of shopping sounds like a scam until you stand next to the van and watch the food keep coming. We sit down with Liz Cope, safeguarding and family liaison officer at St John’s Primary School in Radcliffe, to hear how a Bread and Butter Thing school hub goes from “I’m not sure this will work” to a Monday afternoon fixture that families, staff and volunteers genuinely look forward to.

Liz shares what surprised her most. Things like the steady flow of volunteers, the way children get involved, and how surplus food from supermarkets, farms and factories can land directly in a community where people are working hard but still struggling. We talk about the realities behind phrases like “working poor”, what it means for a school community with high levels of free school meals and lots of families with English as an additional language, and why the bags often include ingredients people would never risk buying at full price.

We also unpack why schools sometimes promote the hub through the lens of food waste and the environment. It is not about dodging the truth, it is about protecting dignity so kids are not labelled and parents feel safe to turn up. From picky eaters and tight budgets to the unexpected benefit of better parent teacher relationships, this is a grounded conversation about food insecurity, community food clubs and the small human moments that make support feel normal.