Bread and Butter thing (1)

Where does food come from?

Our weekly bags are made up of surplus food from supermarkets, food manufacturers and farmers. We never know what we’re going to get from day to day, which means each week your bag of food will be different.

But it is always quality, fresh produce. You will probably need to top up from the shops as well, but our food will go a long way to helping will help you feed your family affordably.
Surplus food happens for lots of reasons – sometimes there is a fault with the packaging or there may just be too much of it for the supermarkets to handle.
Some of our food is beyond its BEST BEFORE date BUT that doesn’t mean that you can’t eat it. With proper storage – for instance in its original packaging and sealed with a clip or in an airtight container – lots of foodstuffs can be eaten long after their best before date, including: Crisps can still be edible for a good month after their best before deadline date, including:

Crisps can still be edible for a good month after their best before deadline.

Biscuits and cereals can last for another six months.

Baked beans and other tinned goods can last in your store cupboard for a whole year, as can sweets and bottled pasta sauce.

And don’t throw away that packet of dried pasta that you’ve found at the back of a cupboard. If stored correctly, it should still be safe to eat around three years after its best before date has expired.

We will never provide food that is after its USE BY date because this is about food safety, not food quality. You can eat food on its USE BY date or, if you have a freezer, pop it in. Just make sure you make a note of how long it will be freezer safe and how long it takes to defrost.

You can find out more about our food and our work on our website: www.breadandbutterthing.org or at @teamtbbt