Food bank Food Waste @ Not Quite Nigella.
When I was working as a volunteer in a homeless kitchen, I was totally overwhelmed by the sheer bulk of donated food – and this was before the days of Foodbank and laws allowing supermarkets and restaurants to donate their goods.
This amazing program feeds millions of underpriveleged people every year, and saves countless waste. However so much food is still wasted. It’s shocking.
I have never turned my nose up at produce that didn’t look perfect – too big, too small, a wrinkle here, a blemish there. I grew up eating browned bananas and apples with bruises and I’m fine! However most of the produce waste in Australia comes from it being ‘off spec’ meaning that it doesn’t fit the size or shape that they assume the customer will want, is superficially blemished etc.
I miss watermelons with seeds so much – and I really did think they tasted sweeter. Now I know I was right – they WERE sweeter. But because the customer doesn’t want seeds, we only get the male, seedless melons - the female melons with all their seeds and juicy sweet goodness are discarded.
Are we crazy? I think we are!
What do you think ?
