Since setting up The Big Difference in 2020, Sanjay Mall has dreamt of a Southampton that could survive on its own food waste.

An offshoot of The Big Breakfast during the first Covid-19 lockdown, the Southampton-based charity redistributes surplus food across the city from its two centres in Woolston and Northam.

Approximately 40 tonnes of food each month is collected from supermarkets and farms as far away as Swindon and Chichester, before being handed out to families who need it most back in Southampton.

“Food is going up in price by about 25 per cent and there’s less money for people who are poor,” said Sanjay – who’s CEO of the charity – and originally set up The Big Breakfast 18 years ago.

“The pot is getting smaller, but food is getting more expensive – so people are going to food banks, they’re trying to get free food. I think poverty in Southampton is relatively high.”

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Sanjay Mall from The Big Difference outside Northam Community Centre (Image: Matt Davey) Each week The Big Difference supports around 100 charities and schools that collects food from their base in Woolston – at the site of the council’s former housing office.

After a busy festive period – that saw £5,000 worth of food handed out to residents in Woolston in less than an hour just three days after Christmas – Sanjay has called on fellow charities and businesses to come together to ensure people don’t go hungry in the city.

He said: “It’s crucial we don’t leave people on our doorsteps hungry.

“If I could make Southampton survive on its own food waste that would be amazing.

“If I could get corporates to invest, we could get so much food into The Big Difference before redistributing it from a warehouse where we could store everything, our vision is massive.

“The growth is ramping up which means there are more costs, which then means you have to find the grants.

“My aim is to get 100 corporates in Southampton to donate £5,000 each – so we could have a pot of £500,000 – and with that we could then try and get a site and build everything in one place and have the infrastructure.

“It costs £70,000 to have an industrial freezer and then I need somewhere to put it.

“If we could have a bit of money invested back into the city, we could really make it work. At the moment everything is dotted around for us.

“All these things in essence are about community and we can make things happen.”