I researched some local trendy groups and how they are influencing more people in terms of food waste.
1. Zero Waste Hub (by SHRUB COOP)
Located in our Zero Waste Centre at 22 Bread Street, the Food Share Centre is Scotland's first rescued food shop and exists to save leftover food from an unnecessary fate in the bin from supermarkets and small businesses around Edinburgh.
It is open to everyone. Simply come to the Food Share Centre. Fill the basket with food and pay as you feel like it.
How it works:
The Food Sharing Hub is working with a host of local supermarkets and small businesses via Fareshare and Neighbourly to rescue surplus food that might otherwise end up in landfill. We get a lot of fresh produce - fruits and vegetables, as well as bread and baked goods that are still tasty and safe to eat past their ‘best before’. They also get seasonal products that shops need to clear away, dented tins, cut flowers and all sorts of surprises.
They use cargo bikes wherever possible to collect food and to distribute it to partner organizations. While They have two cargo bikes themselves,they also work with Cargo Bike Movement and their fleet of bikes.
They want their community to know the process behind the food we get on our shelves. It takes a dedicated team of volunteers.
In the evenings, They have collectors who travel round all our partner stores on cargo bikes or by car, collecting food that the stores haven’t managed to sell. While They have two cargo bikes themselves,they also work with Cargo Bike Movement and their fleet of bikes.
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These collectors then bring the food to a team of volunteers waiting at the Zero Waste Hub who sort through it and weigh it. This team take some of the food to local hostels on their way home. This sorting happens between 8.30pm and 11pm!
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The next morning, a team of volunteers come in early to arrange the food on the shelves and put aside some food for other partner organisations.
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Café volunteers then select items that they can use in our vegan café that day such as fruit for our smoothies!
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Their doors open at 11am and our shelves are looking full and tidy - all thanks to all these people!
The Food Sharing Edinburgh project also coordinates a network of surplus food collections from small businesses and redistributes it to charities across the city who ensure that it reaches people facing food insecurity and offers them a dignified way of accessing nutritious food, while tackling unnecessary food waste.
The Food Sharing Edinburgh project is generously funded by donations from their community and grant funding from:
Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Community Climate Asset Fund
Corra Foundation’s Community Recovery Fund
Foundation Scotland’s Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund
Scotmid’s Community Grant scheme
Turtleton Charitable Trust
Inchrye Trust
2. TOO GOOD TO GO (Blind Boxes)
Founded in Denmark in 2015, Too Good To Go aims to reduce food waste globally by connecting restaurants and shops with unsold leftovers to users who can purchase blind boxes of food with unknown contents at a third of the original price.
Consumer perception and behaviour: a Dutch study showed that the main reasons why users use TGTG are, in order of preference
1. To reduce food waste
2. surprise effect
3. to save money
However, after purchasing a blind box, the food may still be wasted twice, mainly due to
1. health concerns caused by expired food
2. the food itself is not liked
3. infrequent consumption of food types
Environmental benefits: The recently updated version of the app includes a new "Behavioral Feedback" section, which includes Money saved, CO2e equivalent reduction and Magic bag saved, allowing sustainable behavior to be further quantified and environmental values to be more tangible.
3. Keenan (in front of the Evolution Building)
Keenan Separate bins for food waste.
It was of some use, but not very useful, because when I lifted the bin I found a lot of non-food waste.
4. OLIO
OLIO connects Neighbours with each other and with local businesses so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. This could be food nearing its sell-by date in local stores, spare home-grown vegetables, bread from your baker, or the groceries in your fridge when you go away. For your convenience, OLIO can also be used for non-food household items, too.
5. Wrap
Using WRAP's tools and guidance, organisations can work out what types of waste to measure and how to measure it. By working with WRAP, organisations can improve processes, find new techniques and implement best practice in your supply chain.
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