What we offer

Our Services

  • Community Offer @ Bristol Estate Community Hub

    Thursday Community Meal. On Thursdays we cook and host a community lunch 12-2pm. Come along and eat with us!

    Tuesday Refreshments for the Public Living Room session. Each Tuesday lunchtime we serve light refreshments during the Bristol Estate resident association’s drop in session which runs 11.30am-3.30pm.

    The Community Fridge. We stock a fridge and have shelves of ambient food available on a donation basis on both Tuesdays & Thursdays.

    This service is free. Pay-as-you feel donations are welcome.

  • Event Catering

    We provide high quality catering for event organisers looking to feed their attendees. Our head chef and co-founder Ingrid is an experienced professional caterer with over a decade of event experience. Whether you are planning a work lunch, your organisation’s AGM, a seasonal celebration or need a bespoke package of sustainable nourishment, we use surplus ingredients creatively to put together a tasty menu that meets your needs. In 2023 we catered 26 events feeding 1864 people, receiving heaps of good reviews (see quotes below).

    To receive a sample menu or a quote for our services, please get in touch with Ingrid outlining your needs.

  • Long Life Soup from surplus veg

    We make and sell a range of tasty and healthy vegetable soups to independent shops in 700ml glass jars. We use surplus vegetables sourced from farms as well as via partner organisations in the Surplus Food Network. The soup is made by our team made up of neurodiverse young adults. With support from Interreg 2Seas as part of the FLAVOUR project, we devloped this range of soups that we steriise in an Terra Food Tech autoclave.

    See our stockists map for where to purchase and get in touch if you’re interested in selling our soups in your shop. Please note availability is seasonal and we make small batches.

  • Gleaning Days & Farm Trips

    We organise trips to farms across Sussex for community groups and companies to connect with the land, take part in preventing food waste and donate fresh produce to the community food sector. These trips are run by Phil, Sussex Surplus co-founder and experienced gleaning coordinator. The majority of these days take place between July and November.

    If you are a community group or company interested in gleaning as a team building day send Phil an email.

  • Foraging walks

    Go on a foraging walk led by experienced forager Abi; investigating seasonal edible treasures, learning how to confidently identify and deliciously use the finds. This is a fun, educational and healthy way for groups to connect with our landscpes, including the Sussex downs, nearby woodlands or seafront. The pace, route and content can be tailored to the group to make it as accessible as possible.

    Get in touch with Abi to enquiry about availability and costs for organising a forage.

  • The One Pot Supper Club

    Join chefs Josh and Ingrid for a session that starts with a cookalong and then evolves into a shared meal. This usually takes place in the Bristol Estate Community Hub although we have also hosted meals in nearby locations, such as Lovebrook Farm (see video on Instagram). The menu follows seasonally available surplus, often using recipes from their One Pot Manifesto Cookbook.

    This supper club occurs once a month, usually on the 3rd Tuesday from 4-6pm. Keep an eye on our socials for the next event.

What people Say

  • “Very friendly atmosphere and exceptional food cooked by a great set of chefs”

    Member of the public via google review

  • "Sussex Surplus is one of the most exciting and dynamic organisations I have ever worked with. Not only is the team passionate about changing the relationship of communities to the food they eat, but they walk their talk every day, transforming waste and surplus food into incredibly delicious meals and hosting social spaces to bring people together while eating. Sussex Surplus have catered two big projects for me, always providing exactly the right amount of amazing food, with a real attention to detail and great heart. The team are values driven, committed to service and great at what they do. I'm looking forward to many further years of collaboration and can't recommend them enough to everyone else!"

    Darren Abrahams Co-founder of The Human Hive and One World Orchestra

  • “We loved working with Sussex Surplus to feed our hungry cast and crew of 40 in between our matinee and evening performances during the Brighton Festival. From start to finish they were a pleasure to work with. Professional, courteous and serving up absolutely delicious food that everyone loved, at a great price. We will definitely work with them again.“

    Naomi Alexander CEO and Artistic Director, Brighton People’s Theatre

  • “Thank you so much for the amazing food at our AGM. We enjoyed the food so much and we had really good feedback from all of those at the event. The menu choices were really suited to our guests and it really felt there was something for everyone’s tastes and preferences. Your team were brilliant, as always, so a huge thank you to all involved and we look forward to working with you again.”

    Jo Winyard, Senior Operations Manager, The Trust for Developing Communities