Street food
By Julian Broadhead
It’s early evening in the city and the commuter rush is in full swing. Outside a branch of a popular sandwich shop, there is a young man rummaging in a large bag labelled ‘commercial waste’. Yet he doesn’t look like he is homeless, making this scene even more unnerving.
What is being witnessed is known as ‘freeganism’ or ‘urban foraging’ and what this freegan is doing is sometimes known as ‘dumpster diving’. You see, on average, retailers in the UK throw away over 30,000 tonnes of food a week, mostly because it has reached its sell-by date. And if you didn’t know, sell-by dates tend to be on the cautious side.
More out of political beliefs than need, freegans are preventing some of this food from becoming landfill, saving money and ensuring that the energy and raw materials that have gone into the food’s production do not go to waste.
But isn’t it rather disgusting to be eating out of the rubbish? Well, there is obviously a mental barrier to overcome but bear in mind that a large proportion of the food is still in its packaging. If you are a virgin freegan and fancy some street food with an edge, visit www.freegan.org.uk for more information, tips and even meet-ups.
Admittedly though, freeganism will not be for everyone but that doesn’t mean you can’t play your own part in reducing food waste. British households throw away a staggering 6.7 million tonnes of food of a year, so think twice before you go for that ‘2 for 1’ offer and take a look at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ to learn more. As for Vivacity, we’re not fully fledged freegans yet but next time we see one in action, we’ll be taking a peek over their shoulder to see what we’re missing out on.
