The Real Junk Food Project in Manchester has reached its crowdfunding target of £20,000, so should now be able to achieve its goal of opening a permanent pay-what-you-feel kitchen.

The restaurant, slated to open in central Manchester this year, will only use ingredients that would otherwise have been thrown away.

The aim is to show how to reduce the estimated 15 million tonnes of healthy food wasted each year in Britain, by producing meals with food donated by supermarkets, restaurants, distributors and farmers.

“Produce from wholesalers is often at the peak of ripeness but retailers wouldn’t buy it because it would be past its best the day after it reached their shelves,” said Corin Bell, director of the Manchester project.

“The best way we can think of to show how good this food is, is to have amazing chefs transform it into fantastic dishes of top restaurant quality.”