Life around the world

Monday, 12 June, 2017 - 13:42

Waste not want not: Food projects in the UK

by ChloeBlogger

Do you ever throw away food at home? Have you ever thought about what happens to the food that shops and supermarkets don’t sell? Well, you might be shocked to find out that approximately one third of food produced for human consumption gets lost or wasted. What’s more, around 800 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy life.

Many people in the UK and across the world are trying to do something about this imbalance and make use of thrown-out food that is perfectly edible. For example, there is a café in Leeds (UK) whose meals are all created using unsold food from supermarkets, including a lot of vegetables, fruit, fish and other items. This unwanted food is turned into delicious soups, casseroles, sauces and curries that feed the hungry people of Leeds. Customers simply pay what they can afford, or help with the washing up. In just ten months, 10,000 people were fed at this café, using twenty tonnes of unwanted food!

Also, last year the UK’s first food waste supermarket opened. The supermarket is near Leeds and works on a 'pay as you feel' basis; customers pay whatever they want for the produce. The stock changes daily but you can usually find things such as pasta, fresh vegetables, sauces, fruit and milk there. Some low-income families have said that it has changed their lives.

'Fuel for School' is another food waste project. Surplus food from supermarkets such as dairy, vegetables, fruit and bread is used to feed hungry schoolchildren whose families may not be able to afford to buy them lunch or snacks.

Some people in the UK practise 'skipping', which means going to bins and skips and finding food in there to eat. Often the food is packaged, within its use-by date and is perfectly fine to eat!

I have always been very conscious of the amount of food we waste, and I very rarely throw food away. I lived in Leeds for three years, and have had lunch at a food waste café, and it was delicious. I couldn’t believe that it was all food that supermarkets had thrown away! I have also participated in projects such as 'Foodcycle', using supermarkets’ unwanted food to cook meals for refugees and asylum seekers.

More cafés like this are being opened in other parts of the UK such as Bristol and Manchester, and it is now becoming a worldwide phenomenon. I think this is an amazing initiative as food waste is one of the world’s biggest problems. I also believe that the law should be changed, so that supermarkets don’t throw away so much perfectly good food!

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Discussion

Would you eat at a food waste café, or buy from a food waste supermarket?

Submitted by Khava on Thu, 11/04/2021 - 17:15

Hunger is a huge problem for all humanity. Every day from 12 to 20 thousand people die of hunger on earth. It is very disappointing that so few countries are trying to prevent this. Based on the text, I learned that Great Britain is one of the countries that is not indifferent to the fate of its citizens. A cafe in Leeds is the best thing that could be created to prevent hunger among residents. Thus, they find a way to use discarded supermarket products. I am glad that such methods of preventing hunger and the use of food waste are being created on earth.

Submitted by Valeriy on Thu, 05/27/2021 - 08:44

I agree with the author. This phenomenon can help solve a some problem with starvation in the world.

Submitted by EmptySpace on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 14:58

It is good that there are such projects. Food processing is probably a good idea for the future of our planet. This will benefit everyone, especially the poor and those who cannot afford quality food. Such initiatives will save our planet's environment from global catastrophe. It will be good if all the countries of the world take note of this.
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