A CHARITY which turns waste food into nutritious meals for people in need has opened a new centre.

Volunteer project FoodCycle, which collects the surplus food from supermarkets which would otherwise be thrown out and uses it to create healthy three-course meals for vulnerable people, has opened a new base in Chester-le-Street.

FoodCycle opened its Durham hub in 2011 and has since served more than 3,000 community meals in the city.

Now its volunteers have branched out to Chester-le-Street, launching a weekly service this month with a community meal taking place in the Cornerstones Centre every Saturday night.

David Oxlade, one of the volunteers who runs the project, said: “We are delighted by the help and support we have already received in Chester-le-Street, and can’t wait for word to spread about this project.

“This is very much by the community, for the community.”

Across the country, there are 29 FoodCycle projects, which aim is to use volunteers, surplus food and spare kitchen spaces to create healthy meals for people at risk of food poverty and social isolation.

Clare Skelton, marketing and communications manager with FoodCycle, said: “We’re in the early stages of setting-up, but we aim to serve 30 guests a week, we’ll then grow our guest numbers”.

Nick Try, manager of the Chester-le-Street’s hub, said: “We want to spread the word about FoodCycle as much as possible.

“If you know anyone who could benefit from a free nutritious three course meal, and some brilliant conversation with our volunteers, get them down to the Cornerstones Centre on a Saturday night.’

The charity works with major retailers including, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Tesco and Waitrose as well as charities, including, Mind, Salvation Army and Community Shop.

Since the charity opened, more than 1,200 volunteers have given over 118,000 hours of their time, some of which have been working hard to open up the new community meal every Saturday night at Cornerstones Centre.

Since the national project launched in 2008, FoodCycle has won a string of awards including honours at the BBC Good Food awards and the Prime Minister’s Big Society Award.

It has also won the backing of a number of celebrity chefs including Jamie Oliver, Ken Hom and Giorgio Locatelli.