September 4th, 2026.



Havens Community Hub CIC has won an International Green Apple Environment Award for its flagship surplus food initiative, Havens Food Cooperative.

Chosen from more than 700 entries worldwide in the Food Waste Prevention sector, the grassroots project was selected for its daily work tackling commercial food waste and supporting coastal communities across East Sussex. The team will attend an awards ceremony at the House of Lords in November, where the level of their award; Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Green Champion,

Established in 2020, Havens Food Cooperative runs 365 days a year from its central pantry on Thompson Road, Denton. Supported by a full-time manager, the dedicated team of over 45 volunteers collects surplus stock, short-dated goods, and 'wonky' produce from 21 supermarket stores, including partners such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Lidl, Waitrose, Asda, M&S, and Co-op. The rescued food is shared directly through the daily pantry and distributed to 17 local pop-up pantries, youth organisations, social clubs, and food banks across the Lewes District.

To date, the initiative has achieved:

- Over £2 million worth of quality, edible food saved from waste - hitting this milestone at the start of 2026.

- More than 680 tonnes of food have been diverted from landfill since founding.

- Up to 3.5 tonnes rescued weekly, preventing approximately 7 tonnes of CO2e greenhouse gas emissions.

- Direct support for 17 partner groups and hundreds of local households weekly across the Lewes District without barrier or stigma.

- A zero-waste composting cycle, where any items unfit for consumption are processed to enrich local community allotments.

"When good food is thrown away, it rots in landfill sites and damages the environment, while local families miss out on fresh meals," said Paula Woolven, BEM, Founder and CEO of Havens Community Hub CIC. "We set up the Cooperative to fix both problems at once. Hitting the £2 million mark in rescued food and receiving an International Green Apple Award is down to our fantastic volunteers and retail partners who turn up every single day to make this happen."

Following the win, Havens Community Hub CIC has also been invited to take up Green World Ambassador status, putting the East Sussex project forward to represent the UK at the 2027 Green World Awards. The Cooperative's operational model will also be published in The Green Book, an international reference volume for environmental best practice.

The awards are organised by The Green Organisation, an independent non-profit environmental body established in 1994 to recognise, reward, and promote environmental best practice worldwide.