Food redistribution charity FoodCycle is celebrating National Sandwich Week to highlight its ongoing mission to eliminate food waste.

National Sandwich Week runs from today (Monday, May 20^th) to Sunday, May 26^th, and FoodCycle is using the spotlight to declare the humble sarnie as a fantastic means to combat food waste – with two slices of bread the starting point for literally hundreds of tasty snacks.

Based at New Covent Garden Market’s (NCGM) Food Exchange building, FoodCycle has served more than 3.5 million meals to people in need since its creation 15 years ago, collecting excess fruit and vegetables from traders at NCGM to support its national efforts to combat food poverty, loneliness, and food waste.

Now the charity has partnered with Max Halley – owner of Max's Sandwich Shop in London and author of several sandwich cookbooks – to shine a spotlight on using up leftovers in a sandwich. In addition, Max will be donating £1 from every veggie special sandwich sold in his shop on May 25^th and 26th.

Pictured above: Max Halley, owner of Max’s Sandwich Shop and Sophie Tebbetts, CEO of FoodCycle (which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year).

Max’s tips on how to use up leftover bread
“There is of course the famous Panzanella Salad made with old bread. We keep any offcuts of bread to turn into croutons - they said you couldn't put bread in a sandwich, but they didn't think about deep frying it - or you can make breadcrumbs that keep for a very long time. Toasted sandwiches are also miles better made with stale bread than fresh bread.

“Condiments are a gift to veggie sandwiches (and vice versa!). I always LOVE vinaigrette (olive oil, lemon juice, salt) in a sandwich which people often don't think of for some reason. Mixing your condiment/sauce of choice into mayo is a real Sarnie Secret too, so much easier to spread evenly,” Max enthuses.

Fresh fruit and vegetables from NCGM
Max purchases all his fresh fruit and vegetables from NCGM, further cementing this initiative’s link to Nine Elms. Talking to us recently, Max said: “I buy from Rushton’s The Chefs’ Greengrocers (part of the Thorogood Group). Rushton’s provides all of our fresh produce, and we even source our flour from them. Even though that’s not something you might generally expect to source from the Market, we trust Rushton’s to source the best for us as we make all of our own bread too.”

At Rushton’s The Chefs’ Greengrocer, Ben Canning has been dealing with Max for some years now. He says Max “creates meals that are much more than the sum of their individual parts… if I have customers coming to look around the market, I have to order Max’s sandwiches in because they provide a real wow factor.”

Pictured above: Max and Sophie outside Max's shop on Stroud Green

Support the cause
Consider trying out some of Max’s tips for turning your leftovers into a sandwich or heading over to Max’s Sandwich Shop this weekend to try his veggie special – remember, £1 will be donated to FoodCycle. Max’s Sandwich Shop is located in Stroud Green – you can visit his online shop here.