I’ve written several blog posts in the past about our need to reduce food waste and it’s a topic that often comes up in community gardens too. My experience is that when we begin to grow our own food we become much more aware of all our food waste – if we’ve taken the time to grow and care for a plant, we’re much more likely to want to eat it than throw it away!
Pictured at the launch of the Foodcloud Fest are founders Iseult Ward and Aoibheann OBrien with food expert Spohie Morris
I was therefore delighted to see a press release in my inbox about a new campaign from Foodcloud, a new community-based social enterprise that brings food businesses and charities together using an innovative App they’ve created. The App matches those with too much food with those who have too little and if you’re involved in those sectors, simply by registering at Foodcloud, you can start to make a difference.
Iseult Ward, one of the founders of Foodcloud explains the concept here:
There were a few figures in that clip that shocked me, not least that Ireland is the fifth worst country in Europe regarding its food waste. How can that be when there are so few of us??? The good news is that if people sign up and take the pledge, that figure could drop dramatically. Foodcloud estimates that if 50,000 people in Ireland reduce food waste by 1 kilogram per week, just over €1m will be saved, the equivalent of over 5.7 million meals.
Photo Credit: Foodcloud.ie
To help to raise awareness of the pledge, Foodcloud will host a Feast on Wednesday, 2nd April at Smock Alley Theatre in Temple Bar, Dublin.
Ticket holders will be treated to a lavish, three course banquet of fresh, quality Irish ingredients that are ignored or forgotten by supermarkets, restaurants and the modern food system, prepared by Chef Sophie Morris. The Foodcloud Feast will bring together policy-makers, chefs, retailers and foodies, to discuss how the food waste challenge can be tackled, as well as identify the opportunities it provides for the food sector.
If you’d like to take part in the event, tickets for The Foodcloud Feast are available through www.tickets.ie at €37 per person which includes a 3 course meal with wine or beer and lively debate, in the atmospheric surroundings of the Smock Alley Theatre.
If you can’t make it to the feast and/or are involved in the food or charity sectors and think you can help one another, then head over to FoodCloud and sign up today or if you know anyone who might benefit, please forward this post on to them and help to spread the word.
As Foodcloud are hoping to show, if we work together we really can create a more positive future!
Dee Sewell – a horticulturalist and certified trainer who started Greenside Up in 2009 and teaches people how to grow vegetables. Dee specialises in working with community gardens but also offers workshops, allotment visits, consultations, horticultural therapy, afterschools clubs as well as local talks – she tailors her services to meet clients needs. In 2012 Dee launched a Seed Gift Collection containing varieties of vegetable and insect friendly flowers with the aim of getting more people growing. Dee’s blog was a finalist in the 2012 Ireland Blog Awards in the Eco/Green and Lifestyle Categories.
