Exploring what’s fresh and unique about Burton’s newest food club, the bread and butter thing.

By Tom Drysdale

On Thursday, February 13, 2025, I walked a familiar path that sparked a strong sense of déjà vu. Where had I seen this before? Suddenly, I arrived at Burton Soup Kitchen on 22 Rangemore Street. As I approached, Gary Steen greeted me with a wave, even while on a call. However, something felt different. The setup was not like the soup kitchen at all.

That feeling quickly faded when I spotted a huge van branded 'The Bread and Butter Thing'. My confusion disappeared—I had arrived at one of Burton’s newest food hubs.

What Is The Bread And Butter Thing?

Founded in Manchester in 2016, The Bread and Butter Thing (Bread and Butter) is the UK's largest membership-based food redistribution charity, operating in 139 locations across 28 local authorities, from the East Midlands to North Tyneside. They support low-income communities by providing fresh, healthy, and affordable food to their 100,000 members, helping their budgets stretch further. Last year, this amounted to approximately 21.4 million meals saved, with most members saving around £25 a week.

Bread and Butter aims to improve diets, save people money, and strengthen community resilience. They also use their platform to raise awareness of the daily challenges their members face, such as dietary variety, food security, social isolation, and financial difficulties.

Bread and Butter isn't your typical food bank; it's more like a food club. Anyone can register with their local hub, and each week, they can pop down and buy food at a seriously discounted price. At this hub, £8.50 gets you three bags:

One bag of ambient goods (cereals, crisps, tinned food, etc.)
One bag of fresh fruit & vegetables
One bag of chilled items (meats, dairy, juices, etc.)

Where Does The Food Come From?

Bread and Butter sources its food directly from the same warehouses that supply major supermarkets. Debbie, a Bread and Butter distribution officer, explained:

“It's all from the supply chains that stock Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Co-op and Asda. It comes directly from warehouses and depots to us.”

Essentially, Bread and Butter rescues surplus food that supermarkets can’t sell or don’t need, then redistributes it at a fraction of the price. This model helps tackle both food waste and food poverty—a win-win.

As aforementioned, another Bread and Butter aim is to get healthier, fresh food into people's hands. By using a different supply chain, they can give food club members fresh fruit and vegetables – ingredients for all sorts of meals – at prices that don't break the bank.

Debbie explained that the Burton Upon Trent hubs get their supplies from Stoke-on-Trent. The food is sorted there, delivered to each hub, and then packaged up and ready for the members who come to collect their shopping each week.

Getting Hands-On

Not one to stand around idle, I was quickly put to work assembling these packages. This gave me a chance to chat with some of the volunteers. First up was Barbara, who patiently pointed me in the right direction (because, let's face it, I needed it!) and made sure the volunteers were working hard to get everything ready for opening time. She told me she got involved through Gary, her partner, and shares his passion for making a difference in the local community.

Over in the fruit and veg section, I met Jeff and Steph. Steph got involved after seeing Bread and Butter online via the Burton Soup Kitchen Facebook page. A regular donor to the soup kitchen, she was looking for a way to meet new people and give back after being made redundant during COVID-19. She told me how this gives her a break from the constant “doom and gloom” on the news, and lets her see the good in people, which she feels is missing from our daily news feeds.

Jeff's story is a funny one. He literally stumbled upon Bread and Butter the day before, while visiting the local library! He happened to be looking for volunteering opportunities and ran into someone running an open day about volunteering. They suggested Bread and Butter on a Thursday afternoon, and since he goes to the gym on Thursday mornings, it seemed like a perfect fit! He stressed that it’s not a huge time commitment – just a few hours once a week – but the impact on food insecurity is massive.

Marcus also found out about Bread and Butter through the Burton Soup Kitchen. He was also looking to volunteer and contacted Gary online. He explained that this is his first time volunteering in this way, although he's helped out with sports volunteering before, including being one of the people who helped set up the “Melbourne Sporting Partnership.” He said, “This is just a nice way of giving back,” before talking about the incredible value members get for £8.50.

Then there was Simon. He’s worked in the charity sector for over 20 years, most recently spending six years in end-of-life care. After retiring, he wanted to stay active and continue giving back. He said, “The benefits are it’s flexible and it’s not too much of a time commitment,” and added, “Everyone is lovely.” He’s planning to do even more volunteering after he gets back from travelling in his new Volkswagen camper!

Finally, I spoke with Gary. He was brought in to help because of his experience running the soup kitchen. He was key in spreading the word about Bread and Butter, using his soup kitchen contacts, putting up posters in schools, and doing outreach to ensure everyone knew this service was coming to Burton.

The Food Hub In Action

Rangemore Street hub was fully booked, ready to support up to 80 people. They had a good system in place: Debbie at the front desk took payments, Barbara and Steph handed out bags, and Gary, Simon, and Marcus ran the chilled freezer van. Jeff and I kept the workstations stocked and helped members with their shopping. I may have vaguely impressed the other volunteers with my strength and stamina, running back and forth to members' cars, and even more so with my feats of Herculean strength lifting heavy bags and trolleys!

But it was the little chats between the volunteers and the food club members that really showed the sense of community. The volunteers were so selfless and modest, and the members were genuinely grateful for what they were doing. Even just a quick two or three-minute walk to someone’s car made me feel like I’d done something worthwhile.

A Sense Of Community

The true highlight of the day was witnessing the community spirit among volunteers and members. Everyone was friendly, supportive, and grateful—whether it was helping carry groceries or simply sharing a conversation. It also struck me how diverse the food club members were—food insecurity affects people from all walks of life. When fewer people than expected arrived, there was a sense of disappointment, reinforcing just how much passion Debbie, Gary, and the Bread and Butter team have for helping their local community.

Even so, I left feeling like the day was a success. Bread and Butter has a truly unique model, tackling really important issues like food insecurity and waste. The volunteers create such a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and I’d encourage anyone thinking about volunteering or giving back to the community to get involved. If that sounds like you, you can visit The Bread And Butter Thing website, where you can sign up as either a member (no requirements needed!) or as a volunteer.

You can also get in touch with Gary Steen directly at wgsteen@googlemail.com or call him at 07721 303627 to volunteer at the Rangemore Street hub.

If you register as a member by the below dates, you will receive your first Bread And Butter shop for free! These dates are as follows:

Queen Street – 16 March 2025
Burton- 21 April 2025
Waterside – 26 April 2025
Sydney Street- 24 June 2025

Have a positive community story to share? Email Tom Drysdale at teamburtonecho@gmail.com, and we’ll do our best to bring it to life!

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Best Thing Since Sliced Bread.