There is an elegant simplicity in the idea behind Oxford’s newest charity Replenish. Rather than sending hundreds of tonnes of food reaching their sell-by date to landfill, what if it could be delivered to local people who might just benefit from fresh fruit, vegetables and cakes?

Food is collected from supermarkets and delivered to local charities for the homeless and drop-in centres for families, faced with reducing household spending to make ends meet.

Some will undoubtedly be shocked that in a city of Oxford’s wealth, levels of food poverty are sufficiently high to warrant such a scheme, with the problem extending far beyond rough sleepers.

But the need clearly appears to be there and the scheme is already expanding, possibly to cover the entire country.

Anything which avoids the waste of food can only be a good thing.