Hunger in the UK is not just an empty fridge problem, and it definitely isn’t solved by telling people to “just get a job”. We’re joined by Camille and Claire from the Sodexo UK & Ireland Stop Hunger Foundation to talk about what sits underneath food insecurity, and what it takes to build support that actually sticks.

We dig into how our partnership began through volunteering, why getting “under the hood” matters, and what separates a thoughtful corporate relationship from a quick marketing exercise. Claire shares why data is non-negotiable for making good decisions and challenging bias, while we unpack why numbers alone never tell the full story. For Bread and Butter, impact is both insight and humanity: the stats, the journeys, and the moments of confidence that change what someone believes is possible.

The conversation goes deeper into “beyond food aid” and the root causes: literacy, financial literacy, debt spirals, unregulated financial influencers, caring responsibilities, time pressure and the confidence gap that can block people from work even when the skills are there. We also share what we learned from the Women Empowerment Project with Proper Job, including why hubs create natural peer support and why outcomes like education, volunteering and counselling can be the right next step.

Finally, we talk candidly about the cost-of-living crisis and why Sodexo has agreed a new grant to help us offset inflation so we can keep our price to members stable when families are already at breaking point.

Food prices keep rising, even when the headlines say inflation is “down”, so what does getting by actually look like day to day? We sit down with Samantha, a Manchester YouTuber behind the channel Trying to Get By, who shares the practical systems that help her household stay afloat. Surplus food schemes, freezer routines, price tracking, and the kind of honest compromises that make vegan and vegetarian eating sustainable on a tight budget.

We also dig into the bigger picture behind the weekly shop. Samantha explains how she uses tools like Olio and Too Good To Go to reduce food waste, why yellow sticker sections can be a lifeline, and how loyalty cards and app-only vouchers create a digital divide. Along the way we talk about ultra-processed food debates, the real cost of “ethical” alternatives, and the surprisingly powerful idea of keeping a top-20 price list on your phone so you can spot a fake bargain in seconds.

Then we zoom out to what we are seeing across The Bread and Butter Thing community food clubs. When some households have £0 to £25 a month for food, “saving money” is not the only metric that matters. We share member survey insights that show a growing split between those who save and those who simply eat better, and why “stable” has become a new, sobering goal in the UK cost of living crisis.

A healthy diet should not be a luxury item, yet the numbers in the Food Foundation’s Broken Plate report make it feel exactly like that. We’re joined by Hannah from the Food Foundation to talk through what the report is really saying about the UK food system, and why so many families are being pushed towards cheap calories even when they want to eat well.

We get into the headline that stops you in your tracks: for the lowest-income households with children, up to 85% of disposable income would need to be spent to afford the government’s recommended healthy diet. We also unpack the deeper structural problem behind it, including the finding that healthier calories are roughly twice the cost of less healthy calories, and what that means when wages and benefits do not keep pace with inflation and food inflation. From there, we look at targeted support that can actually shift diets, including the Healthy Start scheme, where it works, where it falls short, and who gets left out.

Then we connect affordability to consequences. We talk about dietary inequality showing up as childhood obesity, dental decay that is too often ignored, and a declining healthy life expectancy with a near 20-year gap between the least and most deprived. Hannah also shares how lived experience stories in the report echo the data, from yellow-sticker shopping to the risks of poor-quality surplus. We finish with practical ideas we’ve been debating, including an “Eat Well Card” approach to fruit and veg discounts and small changes like adding beans, lentils, and pulses to stretch meals with fibre and protein.

Homelessness can happen faster than most of us want to believe and the hardest part is not just the lack of a roof, it’s the constant fear, boredom, and a whole new set of unwritten rules you have to learn overnight. We speak with Matthew, who shares a raw and thoughtful account of how domestic abuse and mental health trauma led to six months on the streets, and what daily life really looked like: finding food, keeping clean, staying safe, and trying to hold on to hope. Content warning: this conversation includes references to domestic abuse and suicide attempts.

We also get into the practical reality of homelessness services in the UK and why “just put them in a room” is not a plan. Matthew talks about confusing processes, the pressure of assessments, and the risk of being placed into accommodation that is unsuitable or unaffordable. He explains how Changing Futures helped him build trust, move into emergency accommodation, and start fighting for the support he actually needed, including persistence around health referrals.

One of the biggest takeaways is surprisingly simple: use plain English. A badly worded housing letter can trigger panic and undo progress, especially after trauma. We also explore how cooking sessions and community dining can rebuild confidence and connection, echoing what we see every week at The Bread and Butter Thing: food is often the doorway to friendship, support, and a stronger community.

If you found this powerful, please subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave us a review so more people can find the podcast.

Diana joins us with her dog Gizmo in the background and tells the kind of story that sticks with you. what it’s like to live through a nervous breakdown, carry anxiety for years, and still keep turning up as a parent?

We talk about the fear and loss of control that comes with mental health trauma, how dyspraxia can make everyday life harder than people assume, and the quiet confidence it takes to say, “That was then, this is now”, while you’re still in the middle of recovery.

We also get practical about money and food. Diana explains the real maths of Universal Credit, rising bills, and the end-of-week fridge check, plus how a low-cost weekly shop through The Bread and Butter Thing helps her stretch the budget with fruit, veg, fridge food, frozen items, and cupboard staples.

We dig into dignity too and ask why members sometimes say they’ve been “given” food, why paying matters, and how community food support can feel like friendship as much as groceries. And yes, there is a surprisingly passionate debate about avocados.

From there we zoom out into the bigger questions... why people are judged for being on benefits, why so many want to work and regain routine, and why policy often confuses “low aspiration” with “no clear pathway”. We explore local heroes, careers guidance, apprenticeships versus university, and the unintended consequences that shape who takes which route. If you care about cost of living, food poverty, mental health, or social mobility, listen now, then subscribe, share with a mate, and leave us a review. What’s one clear pathway you wish you’d been shown earlier?

Bread is cheap, familiar, and everywhere which might be exactly why we waste so much of it. We sit down with Chris from Hovis to pull back the curtain on what “bread waste” actually looks like in UK bakery manufacturing and distribution, from out of spec loaves and sensitive dough to supermarket shelf life demands that can make perfectly good stock unsellable before it ever reaches a shelf.

We talk about how Hovis works across branded and own label products, how surplus shows up in distribution centres, and why so much still ends up in animal feed. Chris is candid about the practical barriers: older bakery equipment, tight margins that slow investment, and the hidden asset problem of bread trays, pallets and baskets that need constant replacing. It is a proper look at sustainability in food supply chains, with the messy trade-offs included.

From there, we get into the bits that affect all of us at home: date labels, the best before versus use by confusion, and how fear of getting it wrong drives household food waste. We also explore what could shift the system, from smarter logistics like backhauling to policy incentives that prioritise feeding people and recognise the true costs of food insecurity on health and stress.

If you care about food waste reduction, surplus food redistribution, and practical ways to tackle food poverty in the UK, press play then subscribe, share, and leave us a review so more people find the show.

Send us Fan Mail

“Food waste” is often just food that lost its label, its looks, or its moment. We sit down with Steve Brown, Head of Customer Technical at Barfoots (and sustainability lead for factory operations), to get specific about what surplus means inside a major UK fresh produce grower and packer, and why the route from field or factory to plate is shaped as much by definitions as by lorries.

We talk about Barfoots’ farming roots and what it takes to supply vegetables across seasons by following the sun through the UK, Spain and Senegal. Then we get into the messy middle: anaerobic digestion for inedible by-product, and the grey area where edible produce can still end up as “waste”. Steve breaks down streams like sweetcorn husks (truly inedible) versus sweet potato and butternut offcuts that are perfectly fine to eat, plus tenderstem broccoli leaves and mixed-colour chillies that fail cosmetic standards but not flavour, safety or nutrition.

From there, we zoom out to the policy and measurement problem. Pre-farm gate food waste is hard to count when harvests are multi-pass and “cut and drop” can be plant husbandry rather than negligence. We explore mandatory food waste reporting, the cultural nature of “edible vs inedible”, and why language matters because what we call waste often becomes waste. The thread that holds it together is simple: redistribution works when relationships make it easy, low-cost and reliable for surplus food to go to people who need it, especially as the cost of living squeezes household budgets.

If you find this useful, subscribe, share the episode with someone who cares about sustainable food systems, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.

£2.47 left after bills. Not “after treats”, not “after a big shop”, after the basics. That single number from Tracy in Warrington says more about the UK cost of living crisis than a hundred hot takes about budgeting ever could, and it sets the tone for a conversation that is both funny and painfully real.

We meet Tracy at the Latchford hub and talk about the practical reality of food insecurity: being paid fortnightly, trying to plan for an 18 day gap, and watching the price of everyday items jump week by week. She shares what she can actually spend on food, why meat has become so hard to justify, and how public transport costs change what “saving money” even means when getting to town and back is a fiver. Along the way we get the details that make life feel human, from volunteering locally for years to walking miles in summer to stay connected with family.

We also dig into the bigger question behind her story: why simple solutions do not work for everyone. It is easy for the media, influencers, and even charities to push one neat fix, but real lives are complicated, especially when mental health, bills, travel, and caring responsibilities all collide. That is why community food clubs and surplus food redistribution matter, not as a slogan, but as one practical support that fits around how people actually live.

If you care about affordable groceries, community support, and what the cost of living looks like on the ground, listen through and share it with someone who still thinks the answer is “just budget better”. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what part of Tracy’s story stayed with you.