Environment Secretary Michael Gove, Tory Conferance Speech To Talk About Food Waste

Environment Secretary Michael Gove will use his speech to unveil ambitious plans to use unsold food from major retailers to provide meals to those in need.

According to the Guardia,n last year, the group FareShare distributed 28.6 million meals using surplus food.

Food waste campaigner Ben Elliot welcomed the move, saying the amount of food dumped by the major supermarkets was ‘a scandal’.

Mr Elliot, a businessman who volunteers with a charity called the Felix Project, which distributes surplus food in London, said: ‘We all know that food is often perfectly good long after the best before date set by the supermarket. It is a scandal that so much is thrown away. It is indefensible that you can have a homeless person sat just a few yards away while sacks of food are taken away to be dumped.

The Felix Project was founded in memory of a 14-year-old boy who died suddenly from a rare strain of meningitis.

Newspaper chairman Justin Byam Shaw and his wife Jane set up the charity in 2016 after the death of their son Felix. It collects surplus produce from food suppliers and delivers it free to charities, schools, community halls and food banks.

The food is used to make hot, nutritious meals or snacks for those in need. Produce from more than 100 wholesalers, retailers and manufacturers including Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges is saved from going to landfill.

Food for more than 1million meals a year is provided by ten staff and nearly 200 volunteers with a fleet of ten vans at three depots in London. Backers include musicians Mumford & Sons and Michael Kiwanuka.

ABC Comment: Have your say below: