A Hay-on-Wye woman is attempting to lower the town’s food waste numbers by giving away food past its sell-by date.

Zoe McLean, the founder of Zero Waste Hay, is aiming to reduce the food waste in the town, by giving away food that would normally not be for sale.

The charity is in partnership with Hay-on-Wye Co-op and receives all their food and drink products that they cannot sell - including damaged multipacks, damaged products, and food that is past its sell-by date.

Zoe said: “Very simply we are trying to reduce food waste by taking unsold food from supermarkets and a couple of other places and distributing it for free in the community.

“Our main aim is just to stop good food from being wasted which is great for the environment and stops food being wasted.

“All of our product is good and safe to eat, we don’t take anything past its used-by date, but we do sell products after their sell-by date, which is just a guideline.

However, despite the similarities, Zoe was keen to clarify that this is not anything like a food bank.

“I do have to point out we are open to everyone; we want everyone to feel they can come along and collect anything they may need,” said Zoe.

“There is often a stigma with food banks and we want to clarify we aren’t a food bank, we are in fact, based on a similar organisation in Ross-on-Wye.”

Despite the fact that the organisation is in its infancy - with it only launching at the start of October - it is still the belief that it will be a vital service for the local community.

“I think for some people they’re really going to need this food and some people are loving the zero waste idea, and I think everybody is trying to watch the pennies at the moment so when people are feeling the squeeze being able to pick up a loaf of bread for free is a really big thing,” said Zoe.

Zero Waste Hay is now looking for more volunteers - if you wish to offer your support you can contact them on their Facebook page: Zero Waste Hay.