Free meals and cooking workshops to highlight food waste in Hackney
This November, Hackney residents will be able to enjoy a free three course meal at a top restaurant and learn how to cook healthy cheap meals as part of a new London-wide campaign.
Small Change, Big Difference, will help people eat more things that are good for the environment and their bodies, stop wasting money by throwing good food away, and turn what they can’t eat into electricity or compost by recycling it. Current research figures reveal that London’s households throw away 890,000 tonnes of food each year. What’s more, 60% of the food Londoners discard (540,000 tonnes) is considered ‘avoidable’ food waste – i.e. perfectly good food that could have been eaten.
The events are for Hackney residents only, and are aimed at people aged 18-35 as research shows this age group wastes the most food.
On Wednesday 1 November more than 100 lucky diners will get to enjoy a free three course meal at popular restaurant Wringer and Mangle. The meal will highlight the scale of food waste by using ingredients that the average household throws away. Book your place.
A series of six free workshops at Made in Hackney and the Redmond Community Centre will show people how to cook cheap healthy meals that are good for the environment as well as their wallets. Participants will learn how to make complete meals with a starter, main course, side dish and desert (and they get to eat it after or take it home for later). Each meal will focus on different ingredients. Follow the links below for full details and to reserve a place:
- Tuesday 7 November: pumpkins
- Monday 13 November: bread
- Wednesday 15 November: canned & frozen ingredients
- Saturday 18 November: fermentation
- Wednesday 22 November: beans & pulses
- Saturday 25 November: potatoes
For those who cannot attend the events, advertising at Hackney Central Station and a new website will have tips on how to eat more healthily and sustainably and reduce the amount of food people throw away.
Food can sometimes be functional and throw-away: a sandwich we grab and eat on the bus, or a salad we chuck in the bin because we forgot it was there or were too busy at work to get home and eat it. These events will show people how simple ideas and small changes can reduce the environmental impact of the food we eat, as well as save us money and make us healthier.
Small Change, Big Difference is part of a project called TRiFOCAL London - Transforming City FOod hAbits for LIFE. It is a project funded by the LIFE Programme of the European Union awarded to Resource London - a partnership between WRAP, and LWARB and Groundwork London to address this issue by encouraging Londoners to change their behaviour in relation to the way they shop, prepare, store, eat and dispose of food.