St James wholesale market Bradford 2

Tonnes of surplus fruit and vegetables from Bradford markets could be handed to organisations working with the homeless following a small-scale pilot project.

Around 160 tonnes of unsold fruit and veg from St James wholesale market is sent for composting every year, and stallholders, who have to pay for its disposal, are keen to find a better use for it.

Bradford Council, which manages markets across the district, including St James, says that while some surplus food goes to charities, many tonnes go to waste.

Tomorrow (29 July), members of a council scrutiny body will discuss plans to make better use of surplus food from council markets, according to the Bradford Telegraph and Argus.

An early pilot project which was run in March and April this year saw 840 portions of vegetable soup being made from surplus food by the council's own food processing unit.

The vegetable soup was distributed to 'vulnerable householders' via charitable organisations.

Now, the council is keen to take the next steps to get more surplus food to needy people.