Campaign Against Waste Food Launched in Leeds
As the number of Leeds food bank-users continues to grow, a campaign is raising awareness of how much food ends up in the bin.
According to ‘Love Food Hate Waste', we throw away on average a fifth of what we buy.
They’re holding a series of roadshows across Leeds over the next few weeks, showing people how to make meals from leftovers without spending a penny.
Today they’re on Briggate outside Debenhams.
“It’s all about helping people to reduce their food waste, save their money, and be environmentally friendly in the process,” says head demonstration chef Richard Fox.
“We live in a throw-away society. We’ve got a culture of throwing things away, we don’t get things repaired anymore. And we’ve become a bit disconnected with our food as well.
“This isn’t about fancy chef-y food. All the ingredients I’ve got here, most of us have got right now in our kitchen at home. For example, I’m making fishcakes with nothing more than a bit of mashed potato, a bit of tuna mayonnaise that’s left over from your sarnies at lunchtime, flour, egg and breadcrumbs.”
It comes as the Council reveals plans for two community shops which otherwise would have been binned.
Councillors have committed £50,000 to the project, and it’s hoped that much of the food reclaimed for sale will come from large supermarkets in the local area.
Councillor Keith Wakefield, Leader of Leeds City Council, said:**“The UK’s large supermarkets throw away a staggering amount of food. In 2013 it was around 200,000 tonnes, much of which was still perfectly edible.
“We know that a lot of people in Leeds are struggling at the moment and we’ve seen the number of people accessing food banks rocket up. If we can take food which is past its ‘best before’ date from supermarkets and sell it at cheaper prices, we can help Leeds families access good quality foods and while protecting the environment at the same time.
“This food hasn’t gone off; it’s still safe and nutritious. It’s a scandal that so much is wasted and I hope here in Leeds we can demonstrate what can be achieved if businesses and the council come together to solve this long running problem.”