If you are a food business looking to donate food
If you are a food business or independent food retailer looking to donate extra food, your donation could make a real difference to people and projects tackling food insecurity in Birmingham.
Our downloadable guidance offers practical advice to help make sure your donations are used to their full potential by community food providers and are safe and compliant.
Before donating, you should:
- check food safety by making sure items are within their use-by dates, properly labelled, and stored at the right temperatures
- make sure food is stored and transported separately from non-food goods such as cleaning products, personal care items, or packaging materials
- keep chilled, frozen, and ambient foods apart to prevent cross-contamination, and make sure raw ingredients are kept separate from ready-to-eat items
- use clean, food-grade containers and avoid donating items in damaged or dented packaging
- label food clearly by including ingredients and allergens, and mark use-by or freezing dates where appropriate
- make sure you maintain temperature control - hot food should stay hot, and chilled or frozen food should remain at the correct temperature during transport
- chilled foods should be stored at 8°C or below, you should set your refrigerator to 5°C or below to make sure food stays at or below 8°C
- frozen foods should be kept at -18°C or colder, and must be frozen before midnight on the use-by date if you are extending their shelf life
- hot foods must be kept at 63°C or above during holding or transport
- always check and record temperatures before dispatch and on arrival to make sure food remains within safe limits
If you are not sure where to donate, you can find nearby food projects and community kitchens using the Food Justice Network Map. The map shows a range of local food banks, pantries, and surplus redistribution organisations across Birmingham.
Page last updated: 31 October 2025
