THEY have saved literally tonnes of fruit, vegetables and herbs from going to waste.

This week, Oxford's beloved Monday Shop celebrated its second birthday.

The weekly pop-up market at East Oxford Community Centre invited customers to celebrate with a slice of cake and a sauerkraut-making workshop.

Founder member Sarah Thorne said the current team of eight volunteers was delighted to have reached the milestone.

She added: "It's great to be two years in.

"In a way it is such a tiny project, and yet so many people know about it."

Monday Shop rose from the ashes of the ill-fated People’s Supermarket on Cowley Road.

The volunteers exclusively sell local fruit, veg and bakery goods that otherwise would be thrown away.

The market gets the majority of its produce from The Clays organic market garden in Warborough and local food co-operative Cultivate, based in Little Wittenham.

In the past year the business has taken just over £4,000.

About 80 per cent of that went straight back to the suppliers and the tiny amount remaining is re-invested in the business.

After two years, Miss Thorne, who lives in East Oxford, said the market was staying steadily successful.

She said: "I think it is successful due to its simplicity.

"Everyone who works here is a volunteer, we get the space for free – which is incredible – and it's just surplus fruit and veg.

"It's very easy and people just enjoy coming: we also have a social space with sofas so people can sit and have a chat.

"We have a lot of regulars, especially this year.

"It is also helpful to the farmers who would otherwise have to throw thing on the compost."

Because all the produce is leftovers, the volunteers never know what they are going to get from one week to the next.

Recently they have been selling carrots, beetroot, leeks, apples, pears, mushrooms, thyme and parsley.

Miss Thorne added: "Every now and then we get something we've never seen before: recently we had golden beetroot which was absolutely beautiful.

"People get to buy things they would maybe never try otherwise."

The market even takes allotment and garden produce from green-fingered regulars who can swap their veg for something fruitier.

Katie Herring of Cultivate said: "Monday Shop is a fantastic initiative and it's a testament to their volunteer-led team that it has been running so successfully for two years.

"As a local food co-operative who donate our leftover produce to Monday Shop we are so pleased to have another outlet for our food as it helps us reduce our waste and makes more local food available to more local people."

Monday night's party also saw the launch of a new Very Vegan cookbook by Megan and Leigh Bailey.

Find out more at facebook.com/mondayshopoxford