Venues, restaurants and hotels all throw away huge amounts of food that is perfectly safe to be eaten.
Since I started as Head Chef at Church House at the beginning of April I have looked for ways to resolve the issue of wasted food. Over 900,000 tonnes of food is thrown away in London each year, and it is estimated that 70% of that is perfectly edible.
At Church House, we have teamed up with a homeless charity and now send food that would have been thrown away, to the charity who distribute it to people in London that really need it. It is far from the perfect solution as there are still many guidelines and regulations that have to followed. However every little helps, and we send as much as possible from sandwiches to hot dishes from a buffet. Help The Homeless is such an amazing charity that I hope other venues and restaurants will start doing the same.
| Information about the charity:
Help The Homeless is a cost efficient charity with very small overheads, and so is able to distribute a large proportion of its funds to the wide range of organisations nationwide that help some of the UK’s most disadvantaged people. The reasons for being homeless vary enormously, but may include ill-health, those who are discharged offenders, drug and drink addicts or those who experience other adverse circumstances. Homelessness is not just about the people that the public sees and thinks about – principally “rough sleepers” living on the streets – but the whole range of people who lack a home. |