Shrewsbury Town Council has awarded £60,000 to Shrewsbury Food Hub through its new Cost of Living Grant Fund, providing support over the next three years to help residents access affordable food, reduce household costs and tackle food waste across the town.

The funding forms part of the Council’s three-year Cost of Living Grant Programme and will see Shrewsbury Food Hub receive £20,000 per year until 2029. The programme was established to provide practical support to residents facing financial pressures and to strengthen the resilience of communities across Shrewsbury.

Shrewsbury Food Hub was one of four organisations selected to receive support through the new fund following a competitive application process. The charity operates a town-wide food redistribution network, rescuing surplus food from businesses including shops, manufacturers and farms, and redistributing it through food shares and community organisations across Shrewsbury.

Currently operating seven days a week, the Food Hub is a volunteer-powered charity that works at the heart of the community to reduce waste and support residents. It supports more than 90 community groups that include schools, charities, sports clubs, local authority teams, homeless, transitory, refugee and youth organisations redistributing food that would otherwise go to waste, helping people access good-quality, nutritious produce while stretching budgets and making affordable food more readily available.

The Food Hub has robust partnerships with local and national food networks and actively promotes food security and stability.

Alongside its redistribution work, the Food Hub runs a busy community kitchen that creates meals from surplus produce that are then redistributed through community freezers via the Food Hub network. In addition, it delivers educational sessions that teach local groups and schools and individuals of all ages, much needed cooking skills, how to reduce food waste and how to make healthy, affordable meals. They have recently completed workshops with The Shrewsbury Ark, Shropshire Council’s Temporary Accommodation residents, Shrewsbury Town in the Community and many schools and youth groups throughout Shropshire.

This wider programme supports both environmental and social outcomes by reducing waste while strengthening community connections and confidence. Shrewsbury Town’s Cost of Living grant will enable Shrewsbury Food Hub to further support its Foodshare network. These are open access locations where residents can collect good surplus food, helping them save money while reducing waste.

Plans include the development of additional food shares, community events and practical initiatives  designed to help households reduce food costs and hardship, improve access to nutritious food and build stronger community connections. The project forms part of a wider approach to tackling food insecurity across the town while reducing environmental impacts associated with food waste.

Shrewsbury Food Hub estimates that its redistribution activities generated more than £1.7 million in social, economic and environmental value during 2025/26, helping residents, community organisations and the wider local economy.