Thought for Food

SUSTAINABLE FOOD // COMMUNITY MEAL

The Event

50% of all food waste comes from our homes. Being more conscious about our food choices helps us avoid unintended consequences to well-intentioned actions. Our panel of experts guided us through every step of the food chain, from how food is grown and sourced to where it ends up when we throw it away.

To put inspiration into practice all attendees were asked to bring a vegetable that would have otherwise gone to waste (either from home, the reduced section at a supermarket or apps such as Too Good To Go, Olio and Karma) so that we could prepare a light two course vegetarian dinner for everybody.

Our Speakers

We were joined by:

Alice Brown from Sutton Community Farm, a community-owned farm which increases access to fresh, healthy, sustainable food

Alicia Lawson, Director at Rubies in the Rubble, a social business using surplus fresh fruit and vegetables to make premium food products.

Georgie Cella, Manager at Olio, a food sharing app, connecting neighbours with each other and volunteers with food businesses to stop good food from going to waste

Impact

Our attendees brought 21kg of vegetables and fruit that would otherwise have gone to waste and this was used at the event to rustle up a tasty two-course vegetarian meal for over 65 people!

Through ticket sales and donations, we were also able to raise £170 for our amazing hosts, The Food Chain, a charity that works to ensure that people living with HIV in London can access the nutrition they need to get well, stay well and lead healthy, independent lives. This amount would provide 34 meals.

Action is Better

Eat organic:

Start with cheaper/targeted choices - the "dirty dozen" lists fruit and veg with the highest level of pesticides

Go seasonal:

Eat the Seasons provides a great pool of information and resources
Subscribing to local VegBoxes combines organic and seasonal. Find your local VegBox at Better Food Traders

Re-use:

Get onto Olio’s app to start sharing unwanted food with neighbours

Get creative in the kitchen:

Freeze half the loaf of the bread you buy and use it later
Browning bananas? Cut them into pieces and put in the freezer to use for your next smoothie
Treat fresh herbs like flowers - they like being in a jar of water and some place chilly - like your fridge

Want to explore more? Check out the resources here