SolarPunk and food waste – doing it locally

Posted on August 15, 2022Comments Off on SolarPunk and food waste – doing it locally

Sidmouth SolarPunk is very much about the basics:

The underlying beliefs of Solarpunk are very much ‘mend and make-do’; prepare food from scratch…

Sidmouth being Solarpunk – Sidmouth Solarpunk

These pages have looked at ‘local food’ and foraging, farming and doing some creative things in the kitchen:

SolarPunk and food – doing it locally – Sidmouth Solarpunk

But let’s look a little further at the ‘make-do’ approach and see what we can do…

CUTTING FOOD WASTE – USING LEFTOVERS:

There are good reasons to do this:

According to WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, UK households chuck out 4.5 million tonnes of food every year – that equates to £700 of groceries for the average family.Of course, all of that food has used energy and resources to get to our fridges (food production is one of the biggest producers of carbon in the world), and getting rid of it, whether composting it or, just as likely, dumping it in landfill, will have a further impact on the environment. The issue of food waste is a major scandal in the UK, and it may be that the cost of living crisis will be the thing which finally persuades us to tackle the issue. For the sake of the planet, for the sake of the nation’s food security, and for the sake of our wallets, we all have to take action now.

Andy Newman: We have to cut food waste | Eastern Daily Press

So, what can we do locally – here and now – to help address the issues and come up with some practical ideas?

COOKING CLASSES:

Firstly, there are lots of places to go online for ideas – and here are a couple of really good places to go:

How to use up leftovers | BBC Good Food

Leftovers Recipes | Jamie Oliver

How about some ‘cookery classes’ on making good meals out of what’s left in the fridge?

How about local groups with some know-how setting up some lessons on being inventive with food?

WHAT SCHOOLS CAN TEACH US:

Secondly, schools are already doing a lot, with “food technology”, aka “food and nutrition”:

GCSE Home Economics: Food and Nutrition (CCEA) – BBC Bitesize

Where young people learn about the basics and more:

Eight guidelines for healthy eating | Design Technology – Food Preparation and Nutrition – YouTube

How about the College reaching out to the community?

How about students showing local folk how to eat well on less?

EATING OUT:

Then there are the great things which restaurants are doing – with the latest idea coming out of Asia:

Apps turning restaurant leftovers into cheap meals take off in Asia | The Straits Times

How start-ups in Asia are using apps to turn restaurant leftovers into cheap meals

How about high street restaurants and cafés doing something imaginative?

How about engaging local professional chefs to come up with recipes using leftovers?

TYING IN WITH FOOD BANKS:

Food banks are more than just tins of beans:

A tin of beans donated to a food bank with a tale to tell about the cost of living crisis

And there is more to ‘lecturing people on how to cook’:

Tory MP criticised for saying food bank users just need to learn how to cook | Politics News | Sky News

However, learning to cook well with the basics can be really helpful:

Food Bank Recipe Book.indd

Cooking classes help food bank users to make the most of emergency packages

And here’s a great local project at work:

During the school holidays, there is always higher demand at food banks, often from families which rely on term-time free school meals. Project Food has been awarded £2,500 to provide fruit and vegetable boxes and homemade meals to families.

Cash grant for Honiton charity helping battle food poverty. | Midweek Herald

So, how about experienced folk showing the less experienced on how to use a veg box well?

In other words, how about assembling ‘mentors’ to show what great things can be done with the basics?

TEACHERS, GUIDES, MENTORS:

Finally, here’s an idea from the big smoke:

These Zero Waste Cookery Classes Teach You How To Use Every Last Scrap Of Food | Londonist

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