EFFORTS by a Saltaire-based social enterprise to reduce food waste are being boosted through a new ‘all singing, all dancing’ website developed by a local creative agency.

Saltaire Canteen, part of the national Real Junk Food Project, uses surplus food from local supermarkets and community donations to provide nutritious meals on a ‘pay as you feel’ basis for diners.

Its community run bistro now has a new website with a professionally made animation to communicate its offering, created by Saltaire based marketing agency Xpand.

Agency boss Jag Panesar said: “‘When Saltaire Canteen approached us, we really bought into what they were trying to achieve, so much so that we decided to push the boat out.

“Rather than just giving the basic website that they had the budget for, we spent time to create something that really reflected their ethos through providing web design, animation and photography.

“The team and I are extremely proud to be able to give our community the support it deserves.”

Saltaire Canteen founder Duncan Milwain. said the new website was generating a high level of positive feedback.

He said: “Thirty per cent of food in the UK is wasted. To put that into perspective, an area the size of Wales would be needed to grow all the food that goes in the bin. We work to put this surplus food back into circulation and tackle the issue of over farming.

“We desperately needed a new website to help communicate what we’re trying to achieve and approached Xpand. We’re delighted that they were so supportive in going way beyond what was asked for.

The website has only been live for a few weeks and has already had some fantastic feedback”

The Victoria Road based bistro also community services by providing meals for school children and cooking classes for selected community members such as recent widowers.

Xpand, which was founded by Jag Panesar in 2007, recently donated a new website to organisers of the annual Saltaire Festival as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

Jag Panesar said: “We’re keen to support local initiatives and have been active in raising money and providing services for many worthwhile causes over the years.

A year ago Xpand moved from Bingley Road into larger offices on Victoria Road, its the fourth office move to cater for growth. Its commercial clients range from one-man start-ups to multinational organisations.