Sheffield pay-what-you-can market aims to help struggling families

The market redistributes food that would have ended up going to waste

Families in Sheffield who are on low incomes and struggling with the cost of living can now use a pay-what-you-can food market as part of a pilot scheme.

The pop-up market at the Link Community Hub in Stradbroke enables people to buy cheap fruit, vegetables and groceries.

The goods are supplied by not-for-profit organisation Food Works, which redistributes food that would otherwise have ended up going to waste.

If successful, it could be rolled out to other areas of the city.

People using the market are asked to just pay what they feel they can afford

Dan Pilles, from Food Works, said it was recommended that each person using the market paid £1 for each group of items.

However, he said staff also accepted that some people would not be able to afford that.

"We'll never say, 'that's £4', we'll say, 'that's four contributions, what would you like to pay today?'

"That's the language we'll use and the rest is up to you how you pay," he said.

Shoppers can buy cheap fruit, vegetables and groceries at the market in Stradbroke, Sheffield

One market user, Debbie, who was queuing at the Link, told BBC Radio Sheffield: "I've come for some cheap shopping for my daughter who works part-time and she's got children."

She said that while her son-in-law worked full-time, "money just doesn't spread far enough for them to have food".

"I know quite a lot of people who come to these sort of things but they work as well," Debbie added.

"With everything going up, bar their wages, they just can't stretch their money."

Mr Pilles said that last month, 64 tonnes of food destined for landfill instead went to people who needed it most thanks to the pop-up market.