The Rotten Reality
Here’s the scandalous truth….we waste about one third of all food produced for human consumption.  In the UK alone between 8 and 10 million tonnes of it is wasted annually.  This food has been prepared using significant inputs of land, fertilisers, fuel and effort and its breakdown releases huge volumes of methane (a potent greenhouse gas) into the atmosphere.   In view of these mind boggling statistics alone, it’s fairly obvious that tackling food waste is a huge mountain to climb as we seek to address the climate crisis.

There is also a moral imperative to tackling food waste here too; this shameful waste is occurring at time when food poverty is said to have reached crisis levels.  Put simply, how can we let so much food go to waste when millions of people around the world go hungry every day?

Local Initiatives, Cre8

But, it doesn’t have to be too big, too depressing and too overwhelming for us to make things better, greener, kinder.  We can all contribute to making the change.  Great things are already happening locally that we can all support. 

One organisation that is diverting huge amounts of food from landfill is Cre8, through their Surplus Food Grocery. If you haven’t come across them before, Cre8 runs a brilliant range of activities and projects for the community including their community garden and learning zone.  They are based on the Moss Estate in Macc.

The Cre8 Surplus Food Grocery

The aim of the Surplus Food Grocery is to reduce food waste by redistributing food that would otherwise be wasted, whilst helping people to reduce their shopping bills at the same time. Katy Wardle and a team of volunteers help the grocery to run, preparing enough shopping for over 200 families each week. 

Cre8 source the food from supermarkets, shops, wholesalers and charities (such as FareShare). Much of it is on, or just past, its best before date, meaning shops aren’t allowed to sell it despite it still being perfectly good to eat.

What will you get?

The beauty of going to the Surplus Food Grocery is that you are never quite sure what you will walk away with – all the fun of Ready Steady Cook, minus Ainsley Harriot!  Your bags will usually include essentials including pasta and rice, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread and chilled items such as yoghurts and eggs, and frozen goods.  There have been some really interesting items too, recent inclusions of plantain, tofu and a coconut have also tested our culinary repertoire!

How can you get involved?

The Cre8 Surplus Food Grocery is open to everyone, there are no restrictions or requirements so simply turn up and you can join.  By using Cre8 you are helping to use up wonderful food that would otherwise end up in landfill.  For a suggested donation of £3 for each attendance (they will never turn down more!) you get at least two bags of goodies.

If you are looking to help with the grocery, a simple step is to take any spare carrier bags along with you to hand over, as during current restrictions they are using hundreds each week.  Katy is always on the hunt for volunteers for the grocery as well; if you would like to find out more, you can get in touch at katy.wardle@cre8macclesfield.org

Food waste reduction tips

We could devote an entire newsletter to this (now there’s an idea), but here are some quick tips to avoid wasting food from the grocery
- share with your family and neighbours (or check out the OLIO app to share food with the wider community)
- If you have excess, freeze it for a rainy day, or drop off (in date and unopened non-perishable food) at a local food bank
- Check what is lurking at the back of cupboards and the fridge before shopping for more and do a meal plan for the week after your visit to the grocery
- Love your leftovers; Ecosia (the green google) is your friend to find easy recipes to use up random ingredients 
- Recycle your food waste; use that green caddy! And get composting to create the most environmentally friendly and satisfying way to get rid of food and garden waste