Free Food in Haverhill opens its first distribution hub

Nigh on two years after it was launched as a Facebook group and 3,000 members later, a free-food distribution service in Haverhill now has its own hub.

Free Food In Haverhill began on social media in August 2021, and in the intervening months its founders Lauren Buckley and Matt Yarwood have used their own homes in Dovehouse Road and now Helions Park Avenue as the places where people could collect the food from out the front of the properties.

As of yesterday however, the couple, who have three children under the age of four, have a hub where the free food is stored and distributed to anybody who wishes to help prevent food waste. It was officially opened by the mayor of Haverhill, Cllr David Smith.

The hub is in a former diner on the Charter House Trading Estate, in Sturmer Road, Haverhill, opposite Petco and Practical Solutions – and its opening shows just how far Lauren and Matt have come.

“One year ago we were doing two to four collections a week and now we are doing multiple ones each day,” said Matt.

The couple are in the process of finding volunteers to help either staff the hub or make the collections of food from the supermarkets in town – food that the retailers no longer want and would otherwise send to landfill.

Lauren said: “It’s going to be collected from a shop and taken straight there (to the hub). We are hoping to have set hours for when we are open.

“Until then we will post on the Facebook group when we have food.”

Matt added: “Ultimately the aim will be more people collecting and more people helping.”

To prevent some people missing out, the hub will have a limit of one full basket of food per household.

Having already had a pitch (from where to distribute their food) at the regular car boot sales held on the trading estate, the owner of Practical Solutions, Steve Oakley, offered Matt and Lauren the use of the building for free once it became empty.

In the months since then, Matt has spent an estimated 300 hours getting it ready for opening, none of which would have been possible, said the couple, without the help, support and free time given by many local people.

The final step before opening was a food hygiene inspection. A five-star rating was awarded.

Anyone interested in volunteering can email freefoodinhaverhill@gmail.com.