The Tech & Reading We Can All Consume To Help London’s Food Waste Problem
As food waste is such a big problem, there was no way we could contain all of the information we wanted in just one post so here’s a follow up with a bit of a difference. If you want to check out our first food waste post, read it here.
Rather than focus on the restaurants, bars and food items we can purchase that are helping tackle food waste, we wanted to focus more on what we can do in the here and now. We’re all on our phones all of the time (that digital detox will come one day, right?) so why not emphasise the materials we can read, listen to and use on our digital devices? Read on for a selection of apps you can download, things you can have a gander at and even some useful general tips to help the fight against food waste. Because who doesn’t love a handy tip, right?
Websites and services:
So we’ve mentioned these guys in a blogpost before (which you can have a quick read of here) but we thought they were worth a shoutout again because, well, they’re great. If you’re unfamiliar with their work, Fareshare redistribute surplus food to charities who then turn those yummy goods into hot meals. They hand out food to approximately 1500 towns and it’s easy to see how they are the UK’s largest charity fighting hunger and food waste. Read more about the work Fareshare does and how you can get involved here.
So we all know that more people are highlighting a focus on a Vegan, no meat eating lifestyle and whilst many of us aim for it with the best of intentions, many people still continue to eat bad quality meat. In a bid to increase the quality of pork produced, many chefs have clubbed together to create this initiative which aims to feed surplus food to pigs. Hence, it’s the Pig Idea. With names such as Thomasina Miers, Yotam Ottolenghi and The Mayor of London’s backing, it really is a big scale initiative. Donate, sign the pledge and get involved here.
Pitched as being “From Chefs For Chefs”, this handy tool is available to any person who runs a food business and wants to do their bit around surplus food and wastage. It’s an online tool that chefs, cooks and caterers can use to track their food waste, calculate their outgoing costs and many more other useful things that would benefit anyone in the culinary world. We’ve all got to do our bit, y’know?
- Oddbox
A shocking 20-40% of fresh produce is wasted before it even leaves farms and to help tackle this problem, Oddbox have created a box subscription service where you can get local and seasonal vegetables straight to your door. Or a wonky fruit box for you and your office, if you prefer. They only operate in Zones 1 and 2 of London at the moment so if you happen to be based there, check out more details here.
Apps:
- Olio
If you have anything from a bag of carrots that could go to a nicer home or those cans at the back of your cupboard that you never touch - you can quickly take a picture and upload it to Olio for someone else to nab. It’s all about sharing and not throwing things away so if that sounds good to you, check out more information about them here.
- Karma
You can check the nearest listings on Karma and grab yourself anything from a gourmet salad, pastries or even artisanal cheeses that would otherwise be thrown away by their businesses. With over 1000 restaurants and cafés onboard, you can help the fight against food waste by, well, eating more.
Currently active in 8 European countries and looking to expand is Too Good To Go, which underlines the fact that people should rescue food that really is too good to go to the bin. Rather than chucking sandwiches and other tasty options into the trash, why not discover some new food businesses nearby and take their surplus food off their hands?
Read this:
- Tom Hunt’s series in The Guardian
Ever wanted to know if and how you can use up all watermelon rind? Or how about the leftover rind from your cheese? Or those pesky cauliflower leaves that you always have to chop away and regret because they basically make a cauliflower look 3x the size it actually is. Well Tom Hunt has been writing a rather insightful food series called “Waste Not” over on The Guardian all about these very topics and how using up our leftover bits can help with food waste as a whole. Read it all here.
- Learn what you can about recycling in your local area
A lot of us talk about recycling and do it but aren’t necessarily clued up on what we should and should not put in our orange bins. Make sure you know exactly what your council accepts for recycling by inputting your postcode here.
- Recipes
Of course, the main way around not wasting food is to eat it! Many of us have a complete mind blank when it comes to using up the rest of the things in our fridge and let’s face it, there’s only so many times you can have soup in one week. Try to get more creative with some food waste recipes and check out these ones from Massimo Bottura over on Farmdrop.
- General useful tips
We love a handy tip and the ones over on Love Food Hate Waste are great for cutting down on food waste in the home. For example, if you like lemon and ice in your G&T in the evenings but usually waste half a lemon in the process, why not freeze slices of lemon and get icy citrusy action all in one little segment? Check out more hints and tips over on their site.
Listen to this:
This free podcast is available on all streaming platforms and opens up a very interesting conversation around food waste in general. With talks from the people behind Oddbox, chef conversations and investigations into Aquaponics and vertical farming, this podcast covers a wide range of topics all with food waste in mind. Read more about it here.
- The Food Programme radio show
Do people still listen to the radio? We’re not entirely sure but we thought this radio show was worth a mention. Richard Johnson investigates all the costs of food waste in the restaurant industry and you can learn a lot from his 25 minute broadcasts, we tell ya.
We hope one of these things have stuck out to you and whether you save a new podcast, try out a food waste tip or have just enjoyed the article, make sure to continue the conversation over on Twitter with #djvldn.