A university student who set up the world's first "wonky bread" company during the coronavirus pandemic has joined forces with food suppliers to send 700 boxes of his business' goods to Poland, where it will be used to feed Ukrainian refugees fleeing their homes in the wake of Russia's invasion.
James Eid, from Hertfordshire, founded Earth & Wheat in March 2021 and this week, he sent nine pallets of wonky bread - which is simply made up of perfectly good bakery products that would otherwise be thrown away because they don't meet supermarket's high standards - to Przemysl, around six miles from Poland's border with Ukraine.
The 21-year-old student's donation is one of many from UK food suppliers who are coming together in response to the humanitarian crisis that has raged on since Russia first began their invasion on February 24.
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James' pallets have been delivered to the Polish border by logistics firm Oakland International, and the donation has been co-ordinated with the Red Cross.
The businessman said: “Since the conflict started, I’ve been trying to find a way of helping the refugees in any small way that we can by getting our bread boxes to the Polish border and have now managed to do this through Oakland International.
“They told me that some of the trucks that went last week were driven by Ukrainian drivers who became stranded when Russian forces initially invaded. These guys were taken in by Oakland, given food, water, accommodation and the means to contact their families, before being given a full tank of diesel and a trailer load of aid donations to return home with.
"Many of the UK’s food suppliers are coming together to help the relief effort which will hopefully make a massive difference to those who need it most.”
James initially set up Earth & Wheat in a bid to reduce food waste by "rescuing" any bread baked items which would have otherwise been thrown out due to strict shop standards or because of overproduction.
Since his business began 12 months ago, James has helped repurpose 450 tonnes of bread, received 150,000 orders, and donated another 150,000 meals to food charities.
And James has vowed to continue supporting the relief efforts in Ukraine as much as he can.
He added: “I set up Earth & Wheat to reduce food waste and help food charities but now it’s about responding to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and doing all we can to help these people fleeing this dreadful war.”
If you're interested in picking up a wonky bread box yourself, you can do so via the Earth & Wheat website.
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