Three amazing brands tackling waste!

“Imagine walking out of a grocery store with four bags of groceries, dropping one in the parking lot, and just not bothering to pick it up. That’s essentially what we’re doing.”

This amazing quote from Dana Gunders, Food Waste Warrior and Author of Waste Free Kitchen Handbook, sums up the issues our society are facing on food waste. Waste has been in the news a lot recently; from plastic straws to coffee cups, sustainability is often set in the context of what you shouldn’t do or buy but a number of social enterprise businesses are springing up that are taking on this challenge and offering a great solutions. Check out these three examples: 

Rubies in the Rubble 

Pristine pears, perfectly formed parsnips, glistening Granny Smith’s, our fruit and veg could sometimes be mistaken for a beauty parade. Fresh produce that does not conform to tightly set geometrical boundaries are rejected from most supermarkets, contributing to the third of food that is thrown away.

Rubies in the Rubble is on a mission to change our approach to food one jar of chutney at a time, and with a number of Good Taste Awards to its name they aren’t showing any sign of slowing down. Rubies in the Rubble make delicious chutney and relish from perfectly good fruit and vegetables that are slightly wonky and would have otherwise been thrown away. 

Find out more here: Rubies in the Rubble

Too Good to Go

Rather than scouring the shelves of your local supermarket’s reduced section for that slightly squished sandwich, pick up great locally produced food instead. Gourmet sandwiches for £2, pizza for £2.50, Thai curry for £3 – all made that day and still fresh. Too Good to Go is an app that allows you to pick up delicious and fresh food from cafe’s and restaurants towards the end of their lunch or dinner service priced at least 50% of the original cost. 

With over 2,000 places featured in London so far, find your next snack or evening meal with Too Good to Go.  

More here: https://toogoodtogo.co.uk/

Fruit Factory

Hundreds of tonnes of fruit go unpicked or never leave an orchard every year, and yet we import truckloads of it from all around the world to satisfy the demand for fruit and fruit products. The Fruit Factory are looking to tackle this problem. Having spent the last six years running the project on a small scale, the Permaculture Trust is now looking to start spreading their presence and impact by creating seasonal juices, jams and preserves from these un-picked fruits. 

More here: https://brightonpermaculture.org.uk/orchards/scrumping

Many of these organisations make a profit but have embedded a core purpose at the heart of what they do. The Social Supermarket is working to bring together the best of U.K. social enterprises in one place.