Modern day Robin Hood rescues £20,000 worth of unwanted supermarket food – then gives it away to people who need it

A modern day Robin Hood who has been collecting leftovers from major supermarkets and giving them to people in need since the first Covid lockdown reckons he has saved food worth £20,000 from being wasted.

Public-spirited accountant Keith Brownhill, 60, of Yeovil, has helped everyone from midwives to factory workers to eat well for free during the pandemic, as well as preventing 27,000 portions of food from being thrown away.

A volunteer food waste hero for OILO – an app that connects neighbours and local business, so that surplus food can be shared not binned – Keith, who is married with a daughter, said: “I’ve had 91 people so far collect unwanted supermarket food from me.”

He added: “While Olio isn’t really a food bank and isn’t necessarily aimed just at people in need, it stops food from going to landfill, which is also a very good thing.”

One of 25,000 volunteers operating this extraordinary food redistribution network across the UK, he collects unsold surplus food from the supermarket, brings it home, lists it on the app and then redistributes it to people who contact him, saying they want it.

To be Covid secure, he normally places it on a table outside his house for people to collect, or hands it over at the door.

He said: “It is meant to be environmentally friendly and I can see on the app how far away people are.

“One lady lives down the road, I knew I’d be driving past, so I dropped it off for her. ”

Also, on nights when it has been difficult for him to go to the store, his daughter has made his collections on his behalf.

Keith, who cannot name his wife and daughter because of their jobs, said: “I have no idea what I’m going to get until I reach the supermarket.

“Whatever they are giving away is normally left in baskets at customer services at 8.30pm and they send me a message an hour before to tell me to come and get it.

“Of course, technically, they could message to say they have nothing to give me, but that’s never happened yet.”

• 27,000 portions of food

• 2.7 million litres of water

• £20,454 worth of food from being thrown away

He added: “I normally get bread and bakery products, produce from the fruit and veg aisle and there can be meat and fish, sandwiches and stuff from the chilled foods area.”

But there are strict rules which Keith – who has volunteered on between two and five nights a week throughout the pandemic – has to follow, to comply with Food Standards Agency (FSA) regulations.

He said: “Everything that has a use by date has to be collected from me by midnight, because FSA rules won’t allow it to be taken after that.”

Still, rather than wasting anything that is not collected, he passes on any food he is left with to local farmers to use as animal feed.

He said: “I was fortunate to find some chicken farmers, who take a lot of uncollected vegetables that they can cook up and feed to the hens.

“I haven’t had to scrap anything now for weeks, because I’ve been able to give it all to them.”

As soon as Keith brings the produce home, he has to list it, so that people who want it can lay claim to items and collect them.

He said: “I start listing at nine, so people have a three-hour slot before the food collection deadline passes.”

While people do not give details of their jobs or background when they say they want food through the app, Keith knows he has given food to a midwife and other key workers.

He said: “You inevitably get to know who some of the people you are dealing with are.”

But, unlike Robin Hood, the legendary outlaw famous for stealing from the rich to give to the poor, while major supermarkets are parting with unwanted goods, anyone who signs up to the app is eligible to receive them.

Keith said: “There’s no discrimination, as this is designed to help the environment as well as saving people money. If someone joins and they are there at the right time then they can have the food, regardless of who they are or what they do.”

A perk for food waste heroes is being able to take 10 per cent of the food you’ve collected.

While Keith seldom takes his quota, it can be very useful for people who are struggling to make ends meet.

He said: “It’s very handy for people who need it.”

He added: “This is a great scheme to help the planet, to help people who can’t afford to eat well and for people who just fancy trying something new.

“It’s really good for the community and, so far, through doing this I’ve saved £20,454 worth of food from being thrown away.”

Already actively involved with a charity in the village that provides a rucksack full of educational equipment to underprivileged children and orphans around the world and was started by a local family who lost a teacher relative in the Thai Boxing Day tsunami, Keith is always keen to volunteer.

He said: “I’ve done well in life so, especially when the pandemic started, I wanted to find a way to give something back to the community.

“I do quite a bit of work for a charity in the village.

“I like volunteering and I am concerned about saving the planet, so becoming a food waste hero was perfect for me.

“It combines two things that really matter to me – helping the community and being greener for the planet.”

MUST PAR: For further information about food waste heroes see https://olioex.com/get-involved/volunteer/food-waste-heroes/