How can I help my local community reduce food waste?

Some organisations run public events that you can either attend or get involved in helping to organise for your own local community. They have both educational and social benefits. Here are two examples:

1 Disco Chop/ Disco Soup

This is a small event that involves collecting vegetables that don’t meet EU cosmetic standards from local growers. In Germany it’s called Disco Soup and members of Slow Food Youth and others get together to prepare meals using the vegetables.

The event is accompanied by disco music and aims to raise awareness about the amount of tasty food wasted just because it doesn’t look ‘right’. Here’s a guide on how to organise your own event.

2 Feed the 5000

This is an annual event run by Feedback which aims to feed 5,000 people using only ingredients that would otherwise have been thrown out for being cosmetically imperfect. It has garnered positive media coverage and raised awareness about the importance of reducing food waste.

The first Feed the 5000 was held in December 2009 in London’s Trafalgar Square and these events are now held worldwide.

Becoming a Food Citizen

‘We can be passive consumers of food – drawn in by hard sell advertising and accepting the standards that supermarkets and other big food business set. Or we can help shape the way our food is produced, and how it reaches our plates, by becoming active food citizens.’ (Feedback)

Here are six simple steps from Feedback to becoming a food citizen:

1. Try and eat food that is better for you and the planet.
2. Support the food economy of your region and get involved with it.
3. Be picky when shopping; avoid waste.
4. Question the status quo; demand what you want from food retailers.
5. Use surplus food as a way to connect with others in your community.
6. Find your voice, talk to your peers, share and spread the movement.