A group of entrepreneurial children from West London are fighting food waste by selling surplus food in the school playground and to the local community. The initiative is led by 400 children aged 5 to 12 year olds from Old Oak Primary School & Old Oak Community Centre in East Acton.
They have named their social enterprise ‘Bubble & Squeak’, a nod to the traditional English dish made using leftover vegetables. Emphasising healthy eating, their aim is to take edible surplus food such as fruit and vegetables from local businesses, markets and supermarkets and redistribute it to the local community on a ‘pay as you feel’ basis.
The food waste epidemic is a hot topic: 15 million tonnes of perfectly edible food is wasted in Britain every year. Creative initiatives to fight food waste are sprouting up all over the globe. The children, for example, are inspired by the Real Junk Food Project’s ‘Food Waste Supermarket’ in Leeds.
The kids want to get their whole community involved in changing attitudes towards food waste.
They are launching a crowdfunding campaign on the 24 April to raise £4,500 for a customised shipping container to store and sell the surplus food.
Helping the children with the project are adult coordinators Elly Harrington and Lydia Gandaa.
For more information contact Elly Harrington at bubblesqueakeat@gmail.com / 07515946486, or Lydia Gandaa 02087437629 at Old Oak Primary School.
