PAY as you feel vegetables have arrived in Camelford, giving everyone the chance to include their five-a-day into their diet at a low price, thanks to a nearby anti-waste project.

Janna Booton, who lives in Camelford, is working alongside the team behind the Plymouth Real Junk Food Project to provide pay-as-you-feel vegetables to the public in the town, preventing unnecessary waste.

Janna has been providing boxes of vegetables in Camelford when it is made available to her, with people only asked to give what they can as a donation when they fill their bag.

Through her good friend Victoria Rowan, who together with Jessica Smeed runs the Plymouth Real Junk Food Project, Janna is able to get hold of any excess fruit and vegetables that the project is unable to shift, and, due to her home being located in the centre of Camelford, allows passers-by to collect what they would like to take home with them.

The Plymouth Real Junk Food Project is based in Menheniot, just outside Liskeard. When they have too many vegetables, they will pass them on to Janna to be distributed elsewhere.

With approximately 1.3-billion tonnes of food going to waste in the world every year, people are facing a detrimental food crisis if they do not think more responsibly.

The Real Junk Food Project, a nationwide scheme, is aiming to stop food waste by offering meals and food to people, which they can then pay for either with a donation of whatever they can offer, or perhaps even washing up the dishes at the end of the evening.

Victoria’s branch of the project looks to provide meals and food for regular lunches in and around the area, having recently finished ‘hungry holidays’ for schoolchildren.

She said: “Janna is a very good friend of mine, who provides an outlet to get rid of the stuff we have that we can’t shift. She’s not an official volunteer, but this is all part of a much bigger thing — a huge project, which has recently gone to Europe, that deals with food waste.”

She explained that Real Junk Food Projects come in all sorts of different forms, from cafes to local halls, where meals and food can be prepared and provided.

The main aim is to get food out to people, from produce that may have been destined for landfill.

“When we have food, we just want to get as much food out to people as possible,” Victoria said. “Recently, it’s spun out of control! But we’re linked to Camelford because of the local Camelford food swap page.”

Victoria explained that some Real Junk Food Projects do not reach out to the community as much as they could do, although they might hold regular meals at certain venues.

She said: “A lot of people can’t get to venues, so what we try to do is reach out to the community so we can get the food out there. But it’s not just about getting food to people, it’s about getting rid of potential waste.”

Victoria and Jessica’s project provides good quality meals for parties, events and even a soup kitchen in Plymouth.

The produce they use and provide is often from local supermarkets, as well as local growers.

She said: “We get people from local growing projects around the area, because it’s all very rural. We collect three days a week.”

Janna said there is so much waste in the world, and that schemes like the Real Junk Food Project and offering food for a small sum or donation is the way to go — preventing waste and allowing everybody to get important food groups into their diets.

Janna’s location in the centre of town is the perfect spot to distribute the vegetables.

She said: “When I heard about the work Vicki and Jess were doing, I offered to distribute anything they have a glut of to the people of my town so they can access such a fantastic resource. My house is right in the middle of town, and there are so many people who come past — it seemed silly not to!”

People can find out more about the items on offer, and the initiative itself by visiting the Camelford food swap Facebook page.