Jenny Dawson: Rubies in the Rubble

Website: www.rubiesintherubble.com

Rubies in the Rubble is a social venture that makes edible products from surplus fruit and vegetables while  providing employment to those that need help getting back into work. Currently, Rubies in the Rubble sells a small range of chutneys at Borough Market and selected delis around London.  

The venture was founded in 2010 by Jenny Dawson. As a child in rural Scotland, Jenny grew up in an environment where excess crop was resourcefully turned into chutneys and jams to avoid waste. In 2010, she began looking into wholesale food waste and was eventually compelled to leave her job in finance to start Rubies in the Rubble.  

The company targets wholesale traders to reduce waste. Working closely with New Spitalfields Market, in March it will be installing a kitchen portakabin on site to act as a direct line for any food waste. In addition to reducing food waste, Rubies in the Rubble uses its model to combat social exclusion by hiring people who are struggling to get back into work to produce the chutney and man the market stalls.

Over the coming year Jenny will be broadening the range and increasing production, in the hope of redirecting an even greater amount of otherwise wasted produce. As it grows, Rubies in the Rubble hopes to replicate the model in markets across the UK.