The Bread and Butter Thing CEO Vic Harper on community, finances and yellow stickers

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Vic Harper, The Bread And Butter Thing

Name: Vic Harper

Job title: CEO

Company: The Bread and Butter Thing

What was your first job? Working in a small family bistro. Starting out in hospitality absolutely shaped my work ethic and set my bar for service standards. I probably didn’t realise it then, but it set the wheels in motion in how I think about food, food waste, and how you can rustle up something delicious with just a few ingredients. I love the challenge of a Ready Steady Cook!

What’s been your worst job interview? I think all interviews have a huge cringe factor! The most unusual one was for The Bread and Butter Thing. I had designed and implemented Manchester City Council’s food response during Covid, which was my first real foray into the food sector and a significant learning curve.

What I later discovered was that [founder] Mark [Game] had been observing how I worked throughout that period, which ultimately became a far more authentic interview than any formal process.

What was the first music single you bought? Ha! Showing my age here – Nena, 99 Red Balloons. I grew up with the English version, but the German original is far better. That is the one firmly sitting in my ’80s disco playlist now.

“Rising food costs, insecure work, housing changes or sudden life events can quickly destabilise families”

How do you describe your job to your friends? I help make sure good, fresh food gets to people who need it, without stigma or barriers. We do that by working with surplus food from retailers and manufacturers and redistributing it through our trusted local food clubs.

My focus is on turning that into something that works at scale, building partnerships, designing efficient operations and making the model is financially and socially sustainable. It is about building infrastructure, not delivering temporary solutions.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? Seeing people stop just surviving week to week and start breathing again. And watching communities quietly do incredible things when you give them the right tools.

Bread and Butter Thing van

What is the least rewarding part? Knowing how many households live on a financial knife edge. We often meet people at the moment they are tipping from ‘just about managing’ into crisis, usually due to pressures outside their control.

Rising food costs, insecure work, housing changes or sudden life events can quickly destabilise families. Cutting food spend is often one of the earliest coping responses, which is why preventative support matters so much.

What is your motto in life? Do the right thing, even when it’s harder.

If you were allowed one dream perk, what would it be? The brilliant TBBT team delivers support in every type of weather, 52 weeks of the year, so my dream perk would be a weather control switch. Mostly so our team, volunteers and members could get food without needing to fight wind, rain or the occasional British sideways hail.

Do you have any phobias? Not particularly, although edible food going to waste genuinely horrifies me, whether that is surplus in the supply chain or waste in the home. I am a dedicated yellow sticker hunter and regularly stop at the shops after work to see what I can rescue for dinner or the freezer.

If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? Fresh, healthy food would be the cheapest option on the shelf, not the hardest to afford.

What luxury would you have on a desert island? A cold white wine and a contemporary fiction book. The luxury of slowing down and having a quiet read with nowhere else to be.

What animal most reflects your personality? A sheepdog. Calm most of the time, fiercely protective when it matters, and always keeping an eye on the whole field.

What’s your favourite film and why? I am not really a film person, I usually lean towards books. If I do watch something, it is normally a documentary. Sherpa stuck with me because it tells the story behind Everest from the perspective of the Sherpa community, highlighting issues of fairness, risk and recognition. It is a reminder that big achievements are often built on unseen work.

What has been the most embarrassing moment in your life? Complaining that the ex in-laws had outstayed their welcome and forgetting the baby monitor was still on… and transmitting everything directly into the room they were sitting in. It taught me two things: always check the tech and sometimes keep your thoughts to yourself.

Which celebrity would you most like to work with and why? Sarah Lancashire. She has a brilliant ability to portray complex, grounded characters rooted in real communities with dignity and authenticity. As someone who is proudly northern, I think it is really important that we continue to celebrate and amplify voices from all parts of the UK, and she does that exceptionally well.

What would your death row meal be? Feels like a waste of a meal, to be honest, so I’d skip it.