One of the many sayings my grandmother crooned with a smile was ‘waste not, want not’. Surviving two world wars, she knew what it took to feed a growing family with limited means.
Three things have happened over the past three weeks that have made me happy. All relate to food salvage.
1. Legislation barring stores from spoiling and throwing away food, France
French supermarkets will be banned from throwing away or destroying unsold food and must instead donate it to charities or for animal feed, under a law set to crack down on food waste.
The French national assembly voted unanimously to pass the legislation as France battles an epidemic of wasted food that has highlighted the divide between giant food firms and people who are struggling to eat.
May France’s learnings and progression be a role model for the rest of the world.
I had a kunekune pig called ‘Oscar’ a few years ago. Boy, did he eat. He ate much more than my family of 3 at the time could offer him with scrap veges, so I eyeballed a few local supermarkets and agreed to collect their Fresh Produce department scrap bin several times a week. Mostly the bins consisted of loose leaves of lettuce and tattered shreds of cabbage that customers discarded before taking to the check out. Often though, rubbish bags contained perfectly good fruit and vegetables, albeit sporting a small bruise, a nick or a patch of discolouration. While I had the most content and no doubt fattest big in Taupaki (some 60kg), I did wonder why then as a supermarket society, we strove for such food perfection. I recall having worse looking food in my own fridge in which I religiously preened (cut off bruised corners or wilted ends) in a bid to ‘waste not, want not’ before feeding to my own family. All these years later, I am glad that someone has seen some sense in the world on a governmental level and made change.
Australia’s leading food rescue organisation is getting in on the pop-up trend. Opening in Pyrmont ‘Harvested’ will serve up high-quality meals made entirely from ingredients destined for landfill.
Following a trend in the US, a Sydney pop-up cafe has opened its doors — solely using surplus food destined for landfill that society has rejected because of its appearance, discolouration or slight imperfections.
Wonderful. We are more accustomed now to seek the out the organic specials renown for their bumpy skin and mutant traits, or opt for a large bag of ‘seconds’ rather than an expensive handful of ‘firsts’! Why wouldn’t we dine in a cafe that served them too? After all, with a fabulous chef and magical ingredients, a bent bean isn’t going to ruin the evening, one would hope. Bring it on. I look forward to dining in an Auckland Scrap Food Cafe soon.
3. Free food, my garden gate
Mad woman gives free fruit away to unsuspecting neighbours from suburban berm. — Oh, that’s me.
Not everything has to be on a global or national level. In fact some things can start at home. Well, that was my theory this weekend.
If you have been following my blog you may have seen several posts about my over-burdened mandarin tree. With an estimated 1000 mandarins on its branches (and I am not kidding) I’ve already bottled, squeezed, baked, eaten, and at times composted the bruised, broken and bird-pecked, after giving bag-loads away to work colleagues and class mates. It hardly made a dent on the tree.
So, this weekend, we gave away tens of kilos of fruit away at the front gate, pre-bagged and ready to eat. A hand-made sign #freefood was enough to get the ball rolling.
At first cars stopped, curious yet suspicious of the offering in broad daylight, in the middle of suburbia. By late afternoon and until the break of dusk, a flurry of walkers, cyclists, dog-walkers and cars selected the last bags with anonymous glee.
I haven’t felt so good all weekend and I can’t wait to have a surplus of other crops to share with the neighbourhood. ‘Waste not, want not’. Doreen Grace would be very proud of me.
Ah well, back into it. There are more mandarin on the tree and they are not harvesting themselves.
