Centre for Challenge Prizes

The wasteful, the hungry and the innovative

Constance Agyeman - 10.01.2013

Globally we waste two billion tonnes of food a year, according to Waste Not Want Not, a report out today from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Whilst millions of people go hungry and new food banks open weekly, for many the news will not be a surprise - although, it is unacceptably high. For others still, the figures themselves are questioned.

Crops that are not harvested or are imperfect, poor infrastructure and storage and marketing which encourages excess are just some of the reasons why food roots and wastes, instead of reaches those that need it most.

We need to give some serious thought to food. With a mushrooming world population, and a billion extra mouths to feed by 2025, we can't go on consuming, producing and wasting food in the same way - as Inside the Meat Lab explored in last Sunday's Observer.

Despite these large scale, global issues, there are people and organisations that are trying to overcome this wasteful behaviour:  looking at access to surplus food and taking good ideas to a level that can have impact.

At Nesta, we're pleased to be working with and alongside some of the most innovative ideas and initiatives that are trying to tackle food waste; ideas that help local communities as well as reduce the amount that rots in fields and bins.

Here is a slice of current work to excite the taste buds:

• Some of the projects shortlisted for our Waste Reduction challenge prize are looking at access to surplus food and how to distribute it at a scale for impact. For example: Some are looking at local kitchens, like The People's Kitchen, to provide meals made from local surplus and imperfect food to people that are in food poverty. Others are looking at networks to connect producers, distributors and suppliers with organisations who can get wasted food to the people that need it. Organisations like FareShare and Feeding the 5000 are trying to connect these dots with national ambition;
• Casserole Club is a neighbourhood food sharing scheme that connects people cooking at home with others in their community who could benefit from a home-cooked meal. It brings people together through the simple act of sharing a meal. They are currently working with the Innovation in Giving team, to develop the idea and how to reach those most in need of a good, home cooked meal;
• Taking a co-operative approach to supermarket shopping and eating, The People's Supermarket has a kitchen which sells meals using unsold or near-to-sell-by-date produce from its own shelves. You can read all about in The Secret Sauce, a free e-book from Nesta and The People's Supermarket;
• Meanwhile, Nesta's own Jo Casebourne explores the issue of Food Banks and the difference between welfare reform in Buffalo, New York State to Sheffield in the UK.

So as the economy celebrates supermarket Christmas figures, there should be plenty of food for thought about a more balanced, less wasteful, global waste diet.