From Guest Blogger Edward Martin: Poverty in the UK and the Rapid Growth of the FoodCycle Movement

Supermarkets and other food retailers have historically been renowned to throw away food that is perfectly edible. The charity FoodCycle are attempting to solve this widespread problem, to benefit the environment and people at risk of food poverty and social isolation. In true ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ style, volunteers of this charity whip up surplus ingredients into a three-course meal.

Inspired by the Campus Kitchens Project (a US food-waste initiative), a ragtag group of London University students came together with a shared vision – that everyone should have access to a nutritious meal and no good food should go to waste.

FoodCycle started on the 10 May 2009, when their very first meal was served to the public. After six months of gathering excess food, bringing together volunteers and sourcing a community kitchen – it all began. For their first cooking session, the surplus food and biodegradable tableware came from a few eager Chapel Market stallholders from Islington, London.

Within months of that first event, the charity received a lot of interest from volunteers, potential new funders and other charities looking to get involved. It started off as just a group of young people having fun but quickly escalated into something much bigger – the beginning of a whole new movement.

FoodCycle has now got volunteers from a range of different backgrounds, ages and circumstances. They believe that food waste and food poverty should not coincide, giving people the opportunity to share a meal with other friendly faces in their community. Unfortunately, many people live and eat alone, with no access to proper fresh ingredients or cooking facilities.

Food waste has become more of a hot topic on the agenda in recent years and individuals and supermarkets have been galvanised into realising that food wastage is wrong. FoodCycle now works with Sainsbury’s and Waitrose on a national level along with many independent retailers.

Food poverty is a growing problem in the UK, as the escalating numbers of those using food banks demonstrates. The Trussell Trust, a Christian-run organisation which provides emergency food banks, released statistics in 2014 stating that 913,138 people received three days emergency food from Trussell Trust food banks over the preceding year, compared with 346,992 in 2012-13. The Trussell Trust Chairman said that was just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of UK food poverty.

Another indication that people are struggling to meet their daily needs can be found in the rising shoplifting statistics. While part of this increase is down to large-scale operations by organised gangs in deprived areas, the items stolen are often more basic and suggest that people are stealing in desperation to help feed their family. Bob Jones, police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands, told the Birmingham Mail in March 2014 that after analysis of local crime statistics;

“The results suggest that the patterns of criminality are poverty-related where people are stealing food and essential items as opposed to higher value good like electrical items or items like perfumes.” He speculated that “This could be put down to levels of unemployment, cuts to benefits and difficulties in coping with the rising cost of living. We are seeing shoplifting of food in particular.”

So what can you do to help? If you or your organisation have copious amounts of food going to waste, you could see if there is a FoodCycle initiative in your area. FoodCycle is a nationwide organisation run by 1200 willing volunteers, whose local branches use donated ingredients to cook nutritious meals for those vulnerable community members affected by food poverty.

The FoodCycle initiative, not only gives organisations the opportunity to help those in need but also helps businesses boost their green credentials. Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli is a vocal advocate of the sustainable disposal of superfluous cuisine that is not needed for his restaurant:

“In this day and age throwing food away is madness, especially when some don’t have enough to eat. This is why I am proud to be supporting FoodCycle, such an important project whose focus is to limit the amount of food waste and tackle food poverty”

I’m Edward Martin – a sales and marketing officer at Event Supplies, writing about all things eco and green.