About

Who we are

Our mission is to reduce food waste and alleviate hunger by redistributing surplus food to those in need, while being environmentally sustainable. Through our efforts, we aim to create a greener planet, where everyone has access to nutritious food and resources are used efficiently.

The Big Difference began in March 2020 as an offshoot of The Big Breakfast, in response to the first Covid-19 lockdown. Above Bar Church has been running Big Breakfast for the past 15 years. It is a weekly free breakfast for anyone in need. Big Breakfast was set up by Sanjay Mall and 3 others and it continues to run every Thursday, 50 weeks of the year - providing a safe and warm environment for people to come and have a hot breakfast.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Big Breakfast could no longer meet for the breakfast in the usual way. Sanjay and the team saw that there was still a real need for people to receive food support during this crisis - and that was when The Big Difference was born. We provided packed lunches to the homeless who were housed in B&Bs and hostels and delivered food to those homeless on the streets. By June 2020 we had given out over 440 food parcels, almost 2,000 packed lunches and over 3,000 frozen meals!

The charity has grown hugely in the last 3 years. We are grateful to be supported by so many wonderful food providers who donate their surplus food enabling us to continue to support the community around us.

We now work with over 95 community groups, charities and schools in Southampton to help struggling families and the vulnerable who are facing food insecurity. Since 2020, The Big Difference has given out over £3million worth of food! Each month, 15 tonnes of food is saved from going into landfill.