Volunteers racing to save surplus Silverstone food

Image source, Towcester Community LarderImage caption, Towcester Community Larder said the donations included some "weird and wonderful" foodByAlex PopePublished13 minutes agoWhen there are 564,000 fans packed in to see the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, it can mean a lot of uneaten food goes to waste. But not when about 50 volunteers from the Towcester Community Larder, in Northamptonshire, spring into action.Last year they carried out a number of pit stops to collect 32 tonnes of unused food, and this year they were in pole position to do the same again.

Since Sunday they have raced to save 15 tonnes of food and the larder's Katie Steele expects the large collection of "weird and wonderful" items to continue to go up its leader board of donations.Image source, Towcester Community LarderImage caption, Volunteers have been working since Sunday to collect the food and are set to continue until ThursdayThe community larder offers a membership scheme whereby the surplus produce can be bought at discounted rates, and Steele said the volunteers had been trying to "save as much food from the bin as possible". "When you've got that many people coming through the doors inevitably there is stuff that is destined for the bin, unless we can step in and rescue it."

She said it was the sixth year they had undertaken the task at the circuit, which had the largest race weekend attendance in history for a Formula 1 event this year. Steele said they had finished sorting the first load of food at about 01:00 BST on Monday before returning to the circuit just a few hours later. The pick-ups are expected to continue until Thursday.

Image source, Towcester Community LarderImage caption, A variety of mushrooms are now available from the community larder"We need to get the food out as soon as we can before it perishes," Steele said."We have lots of lettuce and salad items but also the weird and the wonderful. "I've seen the most obscure mushrooms you've ever seen, I've never seen mushrooms like it."

Image source, Towcester Community LarderImage caption, Items with a short shelf life, like fruit and vegetables, will be made availableSteele added: "We have all sorts of cheeses and fish and meat, but mostly fruit and vegetables. "Even canned water, pop and lots of milk, ice cream and 5,000 eggs."You never know what you're going to get when you open a fridge."

Image source, Towcester Community LarderImage caption, Edible mixed flowers have also been donated to the community larderThe items will be available at the Riverside Resource Centre, external, Islington Road, Towcester, on Monday from 18:30, with the remaining stock to be offered at the larder's regular sessions on Wednesday from 16:15 to 17:00 and Thursdays from 10:00 to 11:15.Image source, Towcester Community LarderImage caption, Towcester Community Larder will make a number of pit stops at Silverstone to collect the uneaten foodDo you have a story suggestion for Northamptonshire? Contact us below.

Get in touchYour VoiceContact formContact formFollow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external.Related topicsTowcesterSilverstoneVolunteeringFood banksCost of Living More on this storyTonnes of leftover Grand Prix food to be given outPublished7 July 2025Silverstone food waste lapped up by larderPublished8 July 2024Tonnes of waste food saved at British Grand PrixPublished7 July 2023Related internet linksTowcester Community FoodSilverstone 13 minutes ago Get in touchYour VoiceContact formContact form Tonnes of leftover Grand Prix food to be given outPublished7 July 2025 7 July 2025 Silverstone food waste lapped up by larderPublished8 July 2024 8 July 2024 Tonnes of waste food saved at British Grand PrixPublished7 July 2023 7 July 2023 Towcester Community Food Silverstone