Category: News

Sometimes in our warehouse, as donations arrive and deliveries are packed before heading off to the many community groups we support, things can get a bit chaotic, with staff and volunteers vying for a bit of clear space to get things done. They always do but things will be made a bit easier now, thanks yet again to our good friends at Bartlett. The picture below shows Bartlett’s, Corinna (left) and our volunteer, Jo, beside the fabulous, shiny steel table they’ve donated for our warehouse. Thank you once again to Bartlett for their continued support for the work that we do!

Food insecurity in the UK has a gender dimension. Women, for example, are more likely than men to experience it, with 86% of single-parent households headed by women. We see every day how important support is for families under pressure, such as for the young mum who told us that the food we provided for a service she used ensured that her child ate, and she did too, prior to which she skipped meals so her child didn’t have to. Today, on International Women’s Day, we recognise and celebrate the strength of the women holding families together.

If you’d like to play a part by supporting our work, rescuing good food that might otherwise have gone to waste and getting it onto the tables of people who need it, it’s easily done. Please help if you can: https://exeterfoodaction.org.uk/donate. Thank you.

Back in January we posted news on our Facebook page that it was National Hugging Day, founded in 1986 by, Kevin Zaborney, a psychology major at the University of Michigan, USA. It was on the 21st of January, a date he’d chosen because it falls roughly midway between Christmas and Valentine’s Day, a time at which he believed people to be at an emotional low.

English reserve might have hindered things taking off in the UK, but we encouraged people to give it a go (with a hugee’s consent of course), or for them to simply express their affection for what we do, getting good food to people who need it, by making a donation. We’d urged people on saying “don’t be shy”, pointing out that it’s easily done. It still is if anyone feels like giving us a virtual hug: https://localgiving.org/charity/exeter-food-action.

Look what our incredible volunteer, Ellen, has done! (see below).

We still need good condition ordnance survey maps, CDs and books so, if you fancy a declutter, we’ll gladly take them off your hands. Just drop them off at either of the locations below (preferably Rosebarn Lane) and Ellen will turn them into the money that helps fund our work stopping food from going to waste and getting it to people who need it. Please help if you can. Thank you.

Often overlooked as a humble coleslaw ingredient, cabbage is actually a nutritional powerhouse. Whether you prefer it green, red, or crinkled (Savoy), this cruciferous vegetable punches far above its weight class in terms of health perks.

The US writer, Mark Twain, once described cauliflowers as nothing but a cabbage with a college education, but we think he misunderstands cabbages and they’re actually bright and beautiful. We were delighted, therefore, to receive loads of them earlier this week from Gleaning Cornwall Network, kindly delivered by our friends at Amazon. Thank you both – we think cabbages are lovely (and cauliflowers).

Pro Tip: To get the most “bang for your buck,” try eating cabbage raw or lightly steamed. Over-boiling can destroy the Vitamin C and that beneficial sulforaphane.

A few weeks ago, Savona Foodservice held its biggest exhibition to date at Sandy Park, an annual event for the catering industry showcasing food, drink and non-food items. Over 350 delegates attended the exhibition, and we were there too, with our partners, FareShare South West.

Huge thanks to Savona Foodservice, who’d invited us to collect surplus food at the end of the event. Between us we were able to rescue a massive 473kg of lovely food that might otherwise have gone waste. That’s equivalent to over 1,000 meals, which soon found its way to the many charities, schools and food clubs etc. we and FareShare South West support in Exeter and across Devon.

Thank you to Savona Foodservice, our partners and everyone who plays a part in our work. We couldn’t do what we do without you!

Bartlett, who specialise in refrigeration, catering and air conditioning equipment, have been very good friends to us. They’ve come to our rescue on several occasions when one of our fridges or freezers has had an off day. But that’s not all and the picture below shows our volunteers, Donald and Nev, unloading a shiny new printer that Bartlett kindly provided free of charge when the ageing, squeaking one in our office drew its last breath. Thanks to everyone at Bartlett for coming to our rescue once again!

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), inflation fell to 3.0% in the 12 months to January 2026, down from 3.4% in December 2025. It’s encouraging news that the rate at which prices are rising is slowing down, but we’re not out of the woods just yet. Many people are still struggling to put food on the table, which is where we step in, rescuing food that would otherwise go to waste. If you’d like to lend a hand, we’d be very grateful, as would the 1,000s of people supported by the groups to which we deliver lots of lovely, good quality, nutritious food. Please help if you can: https://exeterfoodaction.org.uk/donate. Thank you.

Every Christmas morning, our volunteer, Jennie, gets together with her family and a few friends, and they play carols in the street for their neighbours and local community. This year and last, they made a collection for Exeter Food Action, and this year they raised over £100, for which we’re so grateful. That’s Jennie’s mum in the purple hat with her collection box, and the smiling maestro on guitar is Jon Curtis, one of our original founders. Thank you all!

We’re literally full of beans about a donation we received this week. Our friends at Gleaning Cornwall have supplied us with 100kg of coffee beans from Origin Coffee, with a whopping value of around £1,000!

We’re basking in the gorgeous aroma in our warehouse right now (a nice change from sprouts!), but the beans will soon be bouncing their way to local warm spaces, where visitors can relax out of the cold and enjoy a steaming cuppa. Thank you Gleaning Cornwall!