Cotswolds-based artisan baker Hobbs House donated “enough bread for 200 people” to The Surplus Food Café.

The event was the first of its kind in the area, but organisers of the Stroud event now want it to be a regular occurrence, as there was such a “fantastic response”, according to organiser Caroline Baird.

Anna Herbert, marketing manager at Hobbs House told British Baker: “We got a call about it just last week, and were really happy to be able to help out.

“We donated the bread, but also went along with the children on the day, and it was rammed with people ¬ a huge success from what I could see.”

Anna said that the idea was that people donated what they thought their food was worth, and could have anything from a sandwich and a cup of tea, to a full three-course meal.

Food waste is something that she said bakeries really struggled with “as it’s just so tricky to know how much to cook – you never want to be left short, but there’s nothing worse than waste. If they do establish this as a regular event, or even a full-time café, which I know has been discussed, we’d be more than happy to lend a hand – we’d love to make it a regular thing.”

Hobbs House used to work with Kid’s Company, before its demise last year: “We used to provide bread for the drop-in centre,” Herbert said.

The bakery has also worked with the Gloucestershire arm of children’s charity No Child Hungry, and also with local schools, giving bread to after-school clubs.

The Surplus Food Café in Stroud was also attended by Deputy Leader of the Green Party Amelia Womack and Mayor Kevin Cranston.

Hobbs House recently opened its fourth shop in Malmesbury on 28th January, giving the bakery a first outlet in Wiltshire.