A thief has stolen a laptop and cash from food waste community group Resurrected Bites.
The culprit took the items from the organisation’s give as you can cafe at West Park United Reformed Church in Harrogate on Wednesday while volunteers were helping people in need.
Resurrected Bites works with local businesses and suppliers to divert food from landfill and converts it into meals in its cafes in Harrogate and Knaresborough. It also operates a community groceries scheme.
Michelle Hayes, founder and director of Resurrected Bites, said:
“We are gutted and hope the person will do the right thing and return what they took.”
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Ms Hayes said no personal data had been compromised but added the incident had been a “wake-up call”:
“It was an opportunistic thief at lunchtime. We will have to be a lot more vigilant on security going forward.
“We are a naturally trusting group of people and it’s very sad that someone would steal from us.”
The Stray Ferret is running a Christmas appeal to raise money for Resurrected Bites, after it issued a plea for funding to keep its services alive.
The target was originally £5,000, which was achieved in days, and has since been raised to £20,000. The current total is £12,800. You can donate here.
Food waste organisation Resurrected Bites has issued a plea for help to businesses after warning it might not survive another year.
The community organisation, which saves food from landfill, has helped thousands of people struggling to get by since it started in January 2018. It operates Give As You Can cafes and shops in Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Founder Michelle Hayes appealed for support at last night’s Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting. She said Resurrected Bites had generated £87,000 and spent £91,000 this year, adding:
“A huge number of people rely on us so we need to look at ways we can still be around in 12 months’ time.
“Since the jubilee, our food supplies have dropped off. We are going to have to start paying for it.”
Michelle Hayes speaking at last night’s chamber meeting.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret afterwards, Ms Hayes said Resurrected Bites currently had sufficient income to survive another six months.
She said it was becoming harder to find supplies because more people were buying reduced price items from supermarkets that might otherwise go to Resurrected Bites.
Ms Hayes also said some supermarkets’ decisions to scrap best before dates was a good move overall but it contributed to there being less food waste in the system for organisations such as Resurrected Bites. She said:
“Fundraising is more challenging because of the economic challenges people are facing.
“We’ve got six months’ income left. I don’t wan’t to go much below that.”
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