At hampers.com, we work closely with our local Oxford Food Hub, donating products from our hampers, which are either getting close to their best-before date or are being discontinued. Rather than letting food go to waste, we collaborate with Oxford Food Hub to ensure these great quality items can be shared amongst those who need them.
Read on to learn more about our team's recent visit to OFH and how hampers.com is committed to reducing food waste.
Why is food waste a problem?
Food waste accounts for 5% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions; that is a significant amount, especially when you consider how many people (about 1.3 billion) are suffering from food poverty and malnourishment across the globe. Not to mention that producing food that ends up in landfills releases greenhouse gases like methane.
In addition, over £19 billion worth of food is wasted in the UK every year. Most of this waste (85%) now comes from households, the hospitality industry and businesses in the food service and retail sectors. Here at hampers.com, we don't want to be another business that becomes part of the problem, but one that becomes part of the solution.
Who are Oxford Food Hub?
Oxford Food Hub is at the centre of surplus food redistribution in Oxfordshire, providing food to over 200 charities and community groups. Last year, they redistributed an astonishing 400 tonnes of produce to local charities and community groups that they support.
how Oxford Food Hub began...
Oxford Food Hub was developed from the kindness of the two founders, David Cairns and Robin Aitken, who initially visited local supermarkets and used their own money to buy low-cost food and donated it to the homeless.
They do great work providing surplus food to those in the local community. The experience was also eye-opening for us at hampers.com to understand the number of charities and people who need support to alleviate food poverty.
from one success to another...
The team at Oxford Food Hub strive to promote inclusivity, collaboration and awareness around the environmental impact of food waste by involving the community of Oxfordshire. The organisation is led by a dedicated group of volunteers who collect surplus food from wholesalers, supermarkets and other organisations and distribute this food to charities and community organisations. It's a win-win situation! Less food waste ends up in landfills, and those in need have access to tasty and fresh produce.
Today, Oxford Food Hub has grown to employ 4 permanent staff, alongside 100 volunteers and a fleet of 8 vans, 4 of which are fully electric, to help with collection and distribution.
what happens to all of the food?
With 116 deliveries a week being made, as much food as possible is distributed to food banks and reaches those who need it most. Any products which have ‘best before dates’ can be used, as 'best before' is about the quality of an item. They are strict about ‘used by dates' as these are legal labels.
Only around 2.6% of the food received at Oxford Food Hub isn't available to be used. It is subsequently sent to Severn Trent Green Power, where it is turned into biofuel or animal feed.
The Oxford Food Hub in numbers:
– Delivering 116 deliveries a week
– Running for 16 years
– Supporting 230 charities, community groups, schools and nurseries
– Saving 5 tonnes of CO2 every day
– Operating for free
hampers.com for the people, planet & community
Sustainability is at the heart of what we do. There is only one planet, and as a carbon-neutral business, working toward B-Corp status, we are passionate about doing our bit to combat global warming and acting responsibly when it comes to recycling and reducing food waste.
Unfortunately, we do have items that are at risk of going out of date before they are gifted in our hampers. To minimise food waste, we order carefully, control stock meticulously and follow tight product rotation.
When we do have short-dated items, our warehouse team will itemise these products and palletise them ready for collection by Oxford Food Hub.
How we're working with the Oxford Food Hub
Collaborating with The Oxford Food Hub is an important part of our business model, as proposed by the Managing Director, Patrick.
We've been working alongside the team for years, with our most recent visit being in September 2025. The hampers.com team volunteered at Oxford Food Hub in pairs to learn about what they do, who they help, and give them a helping hand.
In recent times, they register five new charities every month that need support. This includes charities helping the homeless, those providing warm spaces for the elderly, and those who run children’s centres and pre-schools.
As well as donations from hampers.com, Oxford Food Hub operates at festivals to collect unused food. They also receive grants to buy staples. In addition, local people donate extra fruit and vegetables from their gardens.
It’s great to hear of so many different people and organisations working together.
How you can get involved
We are proud of our collaboration with the Oxford Food Hub. If you would like to learn more about how you can get involved, then visit: https://oxfordfoodhub.org/getting-involved.
You can volunteer, donate food, donate funds or organise fundraising in their honour.
If you have any questions about food waste or donations, please get in touch with the Oxford Food Hub directly or contact help@hampers.com.
