An estimated 400,000 tonnes of usable surplus food can be saved from UK supermarkets each year. Since May 2009, community based charity Foodcycle, have reclaimed over 130,000kg of surplus food from food retailers – the equivalent of saving 585,000kg in CO2 emissions. This week we are talking to Foodcycle’s Steven Hawkes about the charity that builds communities by combining volunteers, surplus food and spare kitchen spaces to create nutritious meals for people at risk of food poverty and social isolation.
Do you find that being socially and environmentally friendly goes hand in hand?
Generally speaking I think it does – social issues and environmental issues are so inter-connected. For us it’s about coming up with a solution for two problems at the same time – one environmental and one social: transforming food that would otherwise be wasted into healthy meals for people at risk of food poverty and social isolation.
However something like food waste should be thought of as both an environmental as well a social problem. If global food waste were a country, it would be the third largest generator of greenhouse gases in the world, behind just the USA and China.
Why do you think that food waste is so high in the UK?
I think we’ve lost touch with the true value of food and we started to think about it as just another commodity. But the truth is that it’s much more than that – when you waste food you aren’t just wasting the food itself, you’re wasting the water and energy that went into it, the fuel expended transporting it, the packaging that it was in, and a whole lot more.
But more practically, Love Food Hate Waste have found that the two main reasons we waste food at home are from either cooking too much or not using up ingredients in time. The foods we waste the most are fresh vegetables and salad, drink, fresh fruit, and bakery items such as bread and cakes.
What are your top tips to minimise food waste?
- Bread. There are so many uses for stale bread; it’s a true FoodCycle classic. Roughly chop and bake or pan-fry into croutons (try adding garlic too) or blitz it up for instant breadcrumbs. Both croutons and breadcrumbs can also be frozen if you want to save them for another time. With 24 million slices of bread wasted across the UK each day, there’s really no excuse not to be more resourceful.
- Herbs. The stalks of herbs like parsley and coriander are delicious so stick them in that risotto or curry! Herbs can also be frozen, either in sealed bags or chopped up and packed into ice cube trays, and in most cases you won’t need to defrost them before use.
- Fruit. Leftover fruit that’s already been chopped up? Try boiling it down with some sugar and lemon juice for a tasty fruit compote that will last for at least a week, or whizz it up into a wholesome smoothie. Fresh fruit accounts for 8% of all household food waste but with a bit of planning, it’s an easy thing to use up!
- Peelings. The skins of potatoes and carrots are bursting full of nutrition and can add a nice texture too. While it’s necessary for some dishes, not everything requires vegetables to be peeled so maybe think twice before peeling that carrot!
Why do you think Foodcycle has been so successful?
The co-existence of food waste and food poverty is something that really resonates with people as totally unacceptable – and we welcome these people to join us in doing something about it by getting involved in FoodCycle. We’re lucky to have an army of brilliant and passionate volunteers who tend to talk about us quite a lot! A lot of our support comes from people who have just heard about us and thought, “That makes sense!”
We also have a great online following, particularly on twitter and this really helps us to spread the word. (find us @foodcycle!)
We wanted to finish with some words from a loyal customer at the Foodcycle cafe to show the brilliant work they are doing in communities everywhere.
“FoodCycle shows us what we can do with all sorts of food, and it’s all vegetarian. It’s changed my eating habits, it shows you can make a meal without meat and I don’t think a lot of people know how to cook from scratch.
FoodCycle is here for everybody that needs it. It’s more than food, it’s making friends and we’re all in the same boat. You’ve got nobody looking down at you”.
To volunteer or donate please visit www.foodcycle.org.uk
