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Pay it forward · Starting in Brighton

Buy a meal for a stranger.

Pay £5 extra at a local restaurant. A meal tag goes on their board. Anyone who needs it takes it, no questions asked.

I want to giveLeave a meal for someone I need a mealHow to take a tag
31%

of UK students skip meals to save money. Many more never say it out loud.NatWest Student Living Index 2025, survey of 5,001 undergraduates. Source

How it works

A board of paper tags by the till. That's the whole system, and that's why it works.

01 · GIVE

Pay a little extra

When you order, add £5 at the till. The staff pin a meal tag on the board.

02 · TAKE

Take a tag

Anyone who needs a meal takes a tag and hands it in. One per person per visit.

03 · SEE IT

Know before you go

On UK Food Spot you'll see which places have tags waiting, so nobody walks in for nothing.

If you want to give

Leave a meal behind

Look for the green Pay it forward label on a dish, then say this at the till:

  • "I'd like to pay one forward, please."
  • Your £5 covers a hot meal or a coffee and roll, set by the restaurant.
  • You pay the restaurant directly. UK Food Spot never touches the money.
If you need a meal

Take a tag. That's it.

You don't need to explain, show anything or be a student. Kindness has no forms.

  • Take a tag from the board, or say "one from the board, please".
  • One per person per visit, so there's enough to go round.
  • No board? Ask quietly at the counter. Staff will help.

Places with a board

We'll only list restaurants that really run a board, and show how many tags are waiting when they tell us.

The first boards go up in Brighton

We're talking to independent restaurants now. Want your local spot to have one? Send them this page.

Add your restaurant

It already works

Paying it forward is not new. It has fed people for centuries. We're bringing it to the places you already love.

University of WarwickMeal tags on a pegboard in campus cafés, handed in at the till, no questions asked. Social Bite, ScotlandStarted in 2013 with suspended coffees. Customer donations now help feed thousands each year. Askıda ekmek, Turkey"Bread on the hook": since Ottoman times, customers pay for an extra loaf so the baker can hand it to someone in need. Caffè sospeso, NaplesA "suspended coffee": pay for one extra cup, left for whoever cannot afford one. A custom since the Second World War.

Questions

Does UK Food Spot take any of the money?

No. You pay the restaurant directly at the till. We don't collect, hold or take a cut of any pay-it-forward money.

Who can take a tag?

Anyone who needs a meal. You don't have to prove anything. We ask for one per person per visit so tags last.

What if the board is empty?

Then the meals have been taken, which means it's working. Check UK Food Spot for another place with tags waiting.

Can I give without eating there?

Yes. Pop in, pay for a tag and leave. Restaurants decide what a tag covers.

How do you know the numbers are true?

Restaurants tell us how many tags are on their board. If we're not sure, we don't show a number.

Someone's next meal could start with yours.

Share this page with a friend, or with the owner of your favourite local place.

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