Success for first Shop, Save and Sustain Essentials pop-up
Posted on Thursday 4 June 2026
Shop, Save and Sustain
Shop, Save and Sustain is a sustainability initiative from the Eat, Shop and Drink team. It tackles food waste across University outlets by offering discounted hot meals at the end of each day's service, with £1 from each sale going towards York based food charities. The scheme has created a circular model where sustainable purchases support the wider student body.
Essentials pop-up
The team recently held the first Shop, Save and Sustain Essentials pop-up event, which saw the distribution of over 2,800 hygiene products and food items to the student community. This project was funded entirely by the Shop, Save and Sustain scheme, allowing all items to be provided to students completely free of charge.
The two-day event held at Spring Lane offered over 500 pre-booked slots, enabling students to select up to six essential items each. A total of 358 students attended the pop-up, resulting in the distribution of 2,864 essential items.
Items given away included shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, toilet roll, canned items, juice, fresh vegetables, oats, cereals, rice, pasta, confectionery and more.
Students praised the timing of the pop-up, commenting that it helped “reduce financial stress during the assessment period” and gave them the opportunity to “stock up on supplies before exams start”. Others commended the scheme for offering products they “wouldn’t normally buy as they are slightly more expensive but easier and quicker to use”. Overall, the initiative was a great success, with one student remarking “it was amazing to see an initiative like this focused on helping students.”
To ensure zero waste, all leftover items from the pop-up were donated to the York Students' Union for their Too Wonderful to Waste scheme. These items, along with remaining food from the Wednesday Crate to Plate scheme, are available at the York SU Helpdesk every Friday during the semester between 4.30pm and 5pm.