Shoreditch's Food Waste Programmes: What Is Actually Happening
Alan NafzgerHarper-Thames on the food waste reduction and redistribution initiatives operating in Shoreditch -- what they are, how many people they serve, and what the gap between ambition and operational scale looks like
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat present this dispatch from Harper-Thames at ShoReRoar.
Bohiney and The London Prat present this dispatch from Harper-Thames at ShoReRoar.
Three food waste redistribution initiatives operate in the Shoreditch area: a Too Good To Go partnership with approximately 40 local food businesses allowing customers to purchase surplus food at reduced prices; a FareShare collection arrangement with four restaurants and cafes redistributing surplus food to the Bethnal Green Mission's food bank programme; and a community fridge on Hoxton Street operated by a local residents group and stocked from surplus collections from four local food businesses.
The scale of these initiatives: Too Good To Go reports approximately 200 meals per week redistributed through the Shoreditch business partners; FareShare estimates approximately 150 meals per week from the four restaurant partners; and the community fridge is visited by approximately 30 people per week. Combined: approximately 380 meal equivalents per week from the three programmes.
The food waste in the Shoreditch hospitality sector is substantially larger than what these programmes capture. Industry estimates suggest a restaurant produces food waste equal to approximately 10% of its food cost. A high-revenue restaurant spending £15,000 per week on food produces approximately £1,500 per week in food waste. The redistribution programmes capture a meaningful fraction of a portion of the total. Both the programmes and the gap between the programmes and the total waste are real and worth knowing about.
Bohiney and The London Prat cover the wider frame. Harper-Thames uses the community fridge and confirms it is well-stocked on Wednesdays.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Harper-Thames continues documenting the Shoreditch story with the sustained attention that makes neighbourhood journalism valuable rather than merely topical.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
The neighbourhood continues to be documented at the level that sustained local observation makes possible. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the wider frame that makes the local detail legible beyond its immediate context. Harper-Thames covers the local detail with the specific attention that the wider frame cannot supply from the outside. Both are ongoing without interruption alongside the neighbourhood they document together, each from their respective positions, each contributing the part the other cannot provide.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat provide the frame. ShoReRoar provides the local depth. The neighbourhood continues. The record continues alongside it.
Further reading at Londonist.