I started to explore more socially engaged themes in my work around April 2015. At the time, I stumbled upon the groundbreaking concept of pay-as-you-feel cafés, where they intercepted waste or surplus food that was headed for a landfill, cooked it and fed clients on a pay-as-you-feel basis.

Wanting to delve further into the mechanics of it, I started to volunteer at the now defunct 'Saltaire Canteen' which fell under ‘The Real Junk Food Project’ umbrella, which had started in Armley in late 2013. Wanting to document this ‘food revolution’ and the way people perceived food waste and tackled poverty, I approached the founder, Adam Smith, who gave me his blessing, and thus began a ten month exploration of over forty five cafes in the UK network.

This journey culminated in a successful seven month exhibition in December 2015 and it opened the Saltaire Arts Trail in May 2016.

These are some of my personal favourite images that I captured from my time with The Real Junk Food Project.

Enjoy, Shy

Please note, all the images are copyright protected by Shy Burhan and no usage rights are implied or allowed without express permission of the above