Helping surplus food reach London communities with City Harvest

On 8 October, nine colleagues from Atlante UK returned to City Harvest’s Acton warehouse for a day of volunteering. With deliveries of fresh produce, snacks and cupboard essentials to work through, the visit brought home just how much good food can be put to use through food redistribution.

Preparing food for its next stop

Working alongside the City Harvest team, we helped sort incoming deliveries and prepare pallets so drivers could easily collect the crates ready for delivery to community projects across London.

Our tasks ranged from sorting crates of pears and boxes of butternut squash to working through fresh organic greens, including spinach, kale, herbs and salad leaves. Other colleagues assembled crates of snacks and packed boxes of cupboard essentials, preparing a variety of food for onward delivery.

It was also interesting to see donations from across the supermarket aisles, with brands ranging from small start-ups to familiar household names. Some products were surplus stock, while others had been donated following manufacturing errors, showing how businesses of all sizes can contribute. This mix gives the communities City Harvest supports access to a varied selection of food that goes well beyond traditional cupboard staples.

Each task formed part of a much wider operation. Sorting donations and organising the pallets helped keep food moving through the warehouse, ready for the drivers to take it to the organisations supporting people in need.

The scale behind every delivery

What stayed with us was the sheer volume of food, alongside the number of deliveries the warehouse receives each day. Seeing so much usable produce in one place was a powerful reminder of what could be lost without organisations such as City Harvest to collect and redistribute it.

City Harvest provides free surplus food for over 1.2 million meals each month, supporting community organisations across London, including food banks, homeless shelters and schools. Its work gives food that might otherwise go to waste a valuable purpose, helping people facing food insecurity access nutritious food.

For us as a food business, the visit reinforced the importance of finding a use for surplus stock. It also gave us a closer understanding of the work needed to make that happen, from receiving and sorting donations to preparing them for delivery.

Following our volunteering visit last year, it was good to return and contribute to the work taking place at the warehouse every day. Thank you to the City Harvest team for welcoming us back and for the care and effort they put into getting surplus food to London communities.

Commitment to sustainability

At Atlante, our commitment to sustainability includes reducing food waste, using resources responsibly and supporting communities. Our work with City Harvest brings these priorities together, helping ensure surplus food is put to good use while supporting people facing food insecurity.

Volunteering gives our team a practical way to contribute to these goals and understand the work involved in food redistribution. Returning to City Harvest is part of our continued support for an organisation whose work reflects our values and our responsibility as a food business..