You’ve heard all the stats about food waste right? We waste about 30 – 50% of our food and it releases significant methane in landfill as it decomposes. Most food we eat also takes a huge amount of resources just to grow and get to us. It’s one of the most frustrating things in our waste cycles and one of the easiest to resolve; there are a myriad of ways we can remove the waste individually, in local neighborhoods, in businesses and structurally, and it can be pretty cheap. We’re really big on meal planning on a budget.
To reduce food waste, have you heard of the community fridge program in the UK? Local retailers, restaurants and households can share their excess food into the fridge for others in the area to use. There are already 70 of them and hopefully this will double over the coming two years. The fridges currently divert about 25 tonnes of food per month which is the equivalent of approximately 50,000 meals.
Community fridges, community gardens, community composts, community waste sharing and product sharing – we want it all! All of these things not only make us way more sustainable but they build trust, connect us back to our resources and land, provide for those going through financial hardship and create friendships too.
